SANTA MARGARITA

WOMEN PRISON

  To A. – thanks for the initial inspiration and for a continuous, unflagging support.

PART 1

       Before the crack of dawn, prisoner Nadia Serna was awakened by the engines’ roar in the prison courtyard. She knew instantly what was going on and what to do. Without thinking, she dropped to the floor and rolled under the bed, just in time to hear the front door being broken down. Suddenly, the building was filled by excited shouts and thumping of boots on tiled floor. More doors were thrown open. There were intermittent gunshots and more screams, some quite close; but the dormitory door stayed shut, and that was a relief.

      As abruptly as it started, the commotion died down. The boots receded back toward the entrance. After a spell of silence, there was a fresh burst of gunfire outside, followed by a two or three methodical shots. The engines came to life again but quickly disappeared into a distance. At last, all was quiet.

     "You think it's over?" whispered Nadia to her friend and bunkmate Katia Jimenez.

     "Who knows?" mouthed Katia.

     With a loud thump, the dorm door flew open.

     "Yes, they are all here!" shouted a harsh, unfamiliar female voice, addressing someone invisible behind her. Then, to the prisoners, "Back to sleep, pigs!" The door slammed closed.

     Nadia sighed: changes were coming.

     Santa Margarita School for Girls (which was the official name of the secret prison) was an isolated place. It wasn’t always so. There was once a thriving village nearby, a favorite vacation spot for the elite; but the village was destroyed in a war, its residents either fled or were massacred, and the only structure that remained was the former school. Now the compound was surrounded on all sides by dense jungle, with only a single dirt road leading in or out. There were no phones anywhere in the building, and no televisions; only a single radio, kept under lock and key in the Commandant's office. The prisoners (who officially did not exist) received no visitors and no mail and knew nothing of the events in the outside world. Even the guards were thoroughly cut off – they too had no contact with outsiders, aside from the tightlipped drivers of weekly supply convoys. All the inmates, whether official or not, were forced to live in their own little self-contained universe, which is why the news of the recent coup d'etat reached them only when the new junta had sent the troops to take over the prison.

     The coups happened at more or less regular intervals, and Nadia Serna, herself a daughter of a state minister four or five governments back, had already seen a few of them. Every time it was the same. A convoy of Jeeps and lorries would arrive without a warning and disgorge a company of half-drunk soldiers, who would then proceed to storm the building, shooting at the real or imagined resistance. Invariably, they would take control in minutes but still continue to rampage and break things until subdued by their superiors. The old Commandant would be taken to the courtyard, put against the wall, and shot; and a new Commandant would be installed in his place. In the end, the soldiers would board the lorries and drive away, leaving behind the fresh Commandant and his chosen flunkies.

     The prisoners had no dog in these fights; none of them cared anymore who held the power in the capital. For them, a coup was always bad news – a new regime, any new regime, meant changes, and these were never for the better.

     The new administration’s first act was to order the prisoners to take a shower. After the end of the workday (which was shortened for the occasion) the women were to bathe themselves, then wait to be issued new, clean prison uniforms. The prison's population was relatively small, just over sixty souls; but there were only fifteen shower stalls, so the prisoners had to be divided into shifts. Nadia and Katia were both assigned to the last shift.

     Under the watchful eye of a guard, fifteen women were marched downstairs and ushered into the so-called locker room, which had no lockers. Nadia took off her ugly old uniform – good riddance! – and surrendered it to the guard, receiving in exchange a piece of soap and a towel. The guard, a young veteran named Gualtiero, leered at her and slapped her bare behind. Nadia prepared to endure more but Gualtiero already turned to the next victim, pinching her nipples. The sight of fifteen undressed women made him happy and playful; he enjoyed himself immensely, which was a good sign – he could be negotiated with.

     Together, they entered the shower room, and Gualtiero immediately planted himself into a folding chair. All girls, as one, turned their heads toward Isabela Aguirre. She pursed her lips but nodded: it was her turn to take one for the team.

     Under the prison regulation, the prisoners could spend in the shower room no more than four minutes. A guard was to make sure the allocated time was not exceeded; but most guards could be distracted… Wiggling her butt and jiggling her considerable breasts, Isabela walked up to Gualtiero, who pretended not to see her. She lowered herself in front of him, unzipped his fly, and retrieved his dick. Gualtiero's face wore a bored expression as though nothing was happening, but his assumed air of indifference was betrayed by his dick, which already started to swell. Isabela helped it along by licking the tip. In the meantime, the other fourteen girls promptly spread out into their shower stalls; they turned on the water and began scrubbing themselves and each other energetically. There was not a second to lose.

     After Nadia was done with washing she simply stood under the spout, letting the hot water melt the coldness inside her. She looked toward the guard's chair. It was partially obscured by the rising clouds of steam, but both Gualtiero and Isabela were clearly visible. The man was smiling blissfully; his mind in his dick, he had lost all sense of time. The girl was hard at work; her head hovered above his groin, sometimes bobbing up and down, sometimes stopping for a while in a fixed position. It was difficult to see what she was doing to him, thanks to her voluminous hair which covered Gualtiero’s lap and hid it from view. One could make good guesses though, just by listening to sucking and occasionally gagging noises she was making – noises loud enough to be heard over the sound of falling water. Nadia made a mental note to thank Isabela later, but presently she closed her eyes and relaxed, luxuriating under the warm flow.

     Too soon, Gualtiero grunted and started jerking his hips in rapid rhythmic movements. He was shooting his load into Isabela's mouth, which meant that it was time to hurry up with the bath. Even after Gualtiero emptied himself dry, Isabela, a real trooper, won another couple of minutes for her friends. She sucked his shrinking dick to the end, then opened her mouth and demonstrated him a white gob of his cum lying on her tongue. She made a big show of gathering wayward drops back into her mouth; she spit on her breasts and licked it back again. Gualtiero watched the performance, looking infinitely fascinated. Yet even Isabela couldn't keep it up forever. At last, after much swishing and gurgling, she had to swallow. Few seconds later, Gualtiero remembered his watch, and the bath time was over.

     The women were given a minute to towel themselves. They expected to be issued new uniforms, but instead Gualtiero herded everyone back into the corridor; just as they were, without any clothes, they filed out of the door.

     "Where are we going?" asked Katia without really hoping for an answer.

     Unexpectedly, Gualtiero deigned to reply; ejaculating into a girl's mouth must have really improved his mood. "I was told to take you to the canteen," he said quietly and gestured for everyone to move.

     Years ago, back when this area was full of wealthy vacationers, Santa Margarita was a boarding school for girls. Even now, despite the new additions like the iron bars on each window, the prison still resembled a small upscale school. Thanks to the legacy of the happier times, the prisoners had such luxuries as wooden beds, nearly civilized toilets, a real shower room with an unusually large number of showers, and the canteen, which was a former school cafeteria. The large open room was still used in the same manner. This was where the inmates ate their usual twice-a-day meals; and today, this was apparently to be the place where they would be given their shiny new uniforms, along with some sort of announcement.

     The procession stopped near the wide doors decorated with half-faded spoons, forks, and happy fat Chefs. Gualtiero counted his charges to make sure no one was lost on the way, then, after some fumbling with the keys, proceeded to unlock the doors. He let everyone in, locked the doors from inside, and joined the other guards near the entrance.

     The canteen was located in the new wing and therefore was designed in a contemporary style. The room would not seem out of place in a modern office building. The walls were covered with plastic imitating blond wood; the floor was beige linoleum; and the false ceiling was square grey tiles. One side was of the room was mostly large, wall-high windows that let in a lot of light; they were protected with steel wire mesh, so any attempt to break a window was doomed to fail.

     Today the place looked differently. The usual table arrangement – three long, side-by-side rows – was broken up. The tables were moved against the wall and the chairs stacked on top of each other. The girls from the earlier shifts sat on the floor in the empty middle space, waiting for something to start. They had been waiting for a long time, and many had bewildered look about them.

     Everyone was still naked.

     Before the prisoners sat a large woman dressed in military fatigues with the insignia of a Sergeant of the Internal Forces. Firmly planted into the chair, she sat with her legs crossed, staring coldly past the mass of unclothed bodies in front of her. It was hard to guess her age, but she could not have been younger than twenty-five or older than forty. She was tall, for a woman, and athletic, with wide shoulders and powerful arms; her face was rude and ruddy, almost a man's face. Thanks to that face, together with the muscles, the shapeless fatigues, and the short, military-style hair, she looked barely female.

     Behind the chair stood the assistants: a small, flint-faced woman of about forty-five and an unnaturally thin, unhealthy-looking girl not much older than eighteen. Both of them also wore fatigues, but theirs were lacking any insignia.

     The girl was fidgeting; occasionally, she would step from one foot to the other, lick her lips, run her fingers through her long dirty hair. "This one must be new at the prison business," thought Nadia. "That’s the most dangerous kind; I have to watch out for her. But the other one is a professional."

     The older woman stood impassively, looking relaxed and slightly bored. She was small but wiry and tough; her hands, now crossed on her chest, were large and veined; her hair was gathered into a tight bun on the back of her head. She looked like a former peasant; probably a pig-farmer. This made sense: dealing with animals prepared one well for the job of a jailer.

     The sitting woman glanced at Nadia and other newcomers. "Is that everyone?" she asked a guard. Nadia recognized the voice: this was the same woman that earlier this morning ordered the prisoners back to sleep. The guard saluted, "Yes, ma'am!" The woman considered the prisoners and nodded to herself. Then she spoke aloud.

     "All right, bitches, enough sitting around! Now get up and make me nice, straight formation. Four ranks, in alphabetical order, starting here. And hurry the fuck up!" To make the point, she reached for the closest girl and jerked her up by the hair. The assistants went to work at once, pushing, punching, kicking; trying to get at the most vulnerable parts of the prisoners' exposed bodies.

     Making the four-rank formation was a regular prison drill, so the girls knew what to do. Those few who appeared to have forgotten were reminded after a kick or two. Nadia's place was near the middle of the last row, between Evita Sanchez and Leonor Serrano. She found her place without delay, and waited, watching the assistants beat up the laggards, and trying not to worry. At moments like this, she wished she could be near Katia; but her friend's assigned spot was at the edge of the second row.

     The woman in charge watched the scene with exaggerated boredom, never budging from her chair. When the ranks were straight enough to her satisfaction, she dismissed her assistants with a hand gesture and spoke up once again.

     "Hey, bitches," she said cheerfully, turning her head from on end of the row to the other, "Listen up! The big boss is not here yet, so I'll make the first announcement. You must be wondering when you'll be issued your new clothes. Well, consider them issued!" She paused for effect and smirked, enjoying the confusion. "Your new uniform," she continued, "Is what you are wearing right now. Your birthday suits" The smirk had become an evil grin. "Yep, from now on, you will go butt-naked! Everywhere and around the clock. This includes eating, sleeping, working, walking in the yard, being punished for misbehavior: the whole nine yards. You will be allowed to keep your sandals though, and—"

     "Thank you, Sergeant Velez. I'll take it from here," boomed a deep male voice behind the prisoners. Everyone turned their heads toward the sound. The new Commandant – who had his own set of keys taken off the body of the old one – has let himself into the cafeteria without anyone noticing. All heads turned toward him, as he strode purposefully toward the front.

     "So this is our new boss," thought Nadia. The man was lean and very tall; and, unlike most tall and skinny people, he was straight as a rod: a natural officer. He had a narrow, pale face, a hooked nose, and a thin mustache, but his most striking feature were his eyes. They were sky-blue, cold as steel, and sharp as bayonet. Nadia felt goose bumps climb slowly up her back. She didn’t like this one bit.

     "Ooh, isn't he dreamy?" whispered Leonor Serrano. Evita Sanchez giggled. Nadia glared at them, turning to one and then the other. Idiots! Empty-headed cows!

     The sitting woman jumped out of the chair as soon as she saw her boss, her arrogance instantly replaced with servility. But the man did not intend to sit down; he moved the chair aside and stood next to it, towering above everyone.

     "My name Captain Andres De La Peña," he said evenly. He did not seem to make any effort to speak loudly but his voice carried to the furthest corner of the room. "I have been assigned the command of this installation by the Provisional Junta and personally by General Vilareal. The General expressed a desire to make this facility an important part of war apparatus."

     General Vilareal. Nadia whispered the name. So that was the name of the new President – or Chairman, or Secretary, or whatever other title the new dictator chose to call himself. Nadia had never heard of him and didn't care. Andres De La Peña – that was the name that mattered to her and to all of them, now.

     "Let me introduce my associates," continued the Captain. "This is my second in command, Sergeant Tatiana Velez, and these are Warden Blanca Vea--" he pointed at the young militia girl, who, hearing her name, immediately straightened military-like, "--and Warden Ines Santana." The older woman continued to stare ahead, as impassive as ever.

     "Now that we are finished with introductions, the first thing I want to tell you is that I am tightening the discipline in this outfit. Your good times are over."  His voice became steely. "The old administration let the things slide. What you have here was more a summer camp rather than a proper prison," he said with ringing disdain.

     This was true. Early attempts to convert classrooms into cells proved unsuccessful, so the prisoners slept together in the dormitory and ate together in the canteen. It was impossible to separate them. The evenings after meals were fun times: the girls exchanged stories, gossiped about male guards, made jokes and laughed. Something it did feel like summer camp – except that homecoming was unlikely any time soon.

     "If necessary, discipline and order will be imposed by force," the Captain was saying. "Any infraction will be punished most severely."

     "They all promise that," murmured someone near Nadia. That was also true: every new Commandant tried to implement his own version of the reign of terror, but after a month or two things would invariably return to their natural course. The last Commandant forbade the guards from fucking the prisoners, and the men started to leave, because no one wants to do this thankless job unless there are some rewards. The prohibition had to be reversed after only two weeks.

     Nadia had a feeling, though, that this time might be different.

     "I will change the attitudes," intoned De La Peña, "And the first step in this process is the new uniform policy, effective immediately. Our country is blessed with warm climate, which means that there are no reasons for prisoners to wear clothes – other than so called 'modesty'. Prisoners have no right to modesty! The lack of clothes will make it impossible for you to hide anything on you body; it will eliminate the possibility of escape. It will save precious resources for those who need them more: soldiers in the trenches, workers in the factories. Wool and cotton cost too much to waste them on useless dregs. Most importantly, it will prepare you for your own contribution to the common good. As General Vilareal said in his first speech on assuming the power—"

     And so he went on, praising the war effort and promising quick progress; talking about the need to fight the enemies, both internal and external; extolling the prisoners to dedicate their worthless selves to the final victory. Nadia had heard it all before. She looked at the Captain and shook her head: De La Peña looked as if he actually believed this junk. Didn't he realize that all the previous Commandants said exactly the same things? Didn't he know what happened to them? She really thought the man to be smarter than that; but apparently, her first impression of him was false. He was just like everyone else. What was the matter with these daft careerists who were jostling for a command position on Titanic? Nadia sighed: her own father was one of such careerists, and she was still paying the price for his myopia.

     The girls in the last row were paying scant attention to the talking man. Their initial apprehension gone, they whispered among each other, gossiping about the sexy Captain and joking about the real reasons for his no-clothes policy. Antonietta Ruiz wondered about the size of the thing in his pants, and Leonor Serrano, grinning, vowed to be the first to find out.

     Dinnertime was approaching, but De La Peña made no sign of slowing down. He went on and on about the just war and the eventual peace, about supporting the troops and contributing their fair share. Every minute or so he quoted General Vilareal, until everyone was sick of the very name. The girls grew restless, then furious; they hadn't eaten since the morning; and if this endless talk didn't stop very soon, they would have to go to bed hungry. Even the guards were getting unhappy, but the Captain carried on, apparently oblivious.

     "Fuck the General," said a voice from the last row. "Fuck the war and fuck you. We want to eat."

     Whoever spoke up took care to disguise her identity: the voice was so high and screechy that it could crack glass. Nadia hadn't had a faintest idea whom it came from; she looked right and left, and saw everyone else doing the same.

     The Captain stopped abruptly.

     "Who said that?" he asked quietly.

     No one answered.

     "Who said that?" he asked again, raising his voice. Once more, he got no reply. "Very well," he growled, "If that's the way you want to play it... I give the perpetrator ten seconds to come forward."

     No one moved.

     De La Peña straightened and took a step forward.

     Walking slowly, deliberately, he made a circle around the ranks of prisoners. There was not a sound in the room, except the scrape of his boots on the floor. At last he approached the rightmost prisoner in the last row and stopped in front of her.

     The girl flinched. The Commandant studied her face for a moment, then moved in front of her neighbor to the left. He repeated this procedure with each prisoner in turn, working down the line along the last row. Eventually, he reached Nadia.

     He lingered with her longer with anyone else. His heavy stare was both measuring and uninterested, and Nadia's gut turned to ice. Unable to bear this, she lowered her eyes. He snapped, "Look at me!" She instantly looked up, eyes wide. He gazed at her for few more seconds, then made a small dismissive gesture and took a step to the left, planting himself before Leonor Serrano.

      De La Peña threw only the shortest of glances at Leonor. She returned his glance with an insolent stare. The Captain nodded to himself; and, gripping the girl’s shoulder, yanked her forward.

     "You! You are coming with me." Without waiting for her reaction, he dragged her to the front.

     Leonor was the first girl to be raped by the previous Commandant. Apparently, she was about to repeat her achievement; and Nadia noticed a look of envy on some of the girls’ faces. However, to everyone’s surprise, the Captain did not leave the room with the girl but instead, threw her into the hands of the women-wardens.

     "Santana," he addressed the older warden, "tie the prisoner's hands behind her back. And you, Velez," he looked at his second in command, "You know what to do."

     Tatiana Velez grinned widely, then remembered herself and saluted. She turned on her heels and marched toward the pile of furniture in one of the corners. She selected a table, carried it back to the center of the room, and carefully put it down. She looked at the ceiling and shifted the table a few inches. She picked up the same chair she sat on earlier and placed it on top of the table.

     The prisoners, greatly puzzled, were observing the unusual preparations. Tatiana jumped onto the table and hesitantly stepped on the seat of the chair. For a time, she crouched on top of this precarious pyramid. After making sure that the whole thing was not about to topple, she stood up on the half-bent knees. She lifted her hands to the ceiling and removed a tile, revealing the pipework hidden behind it. She threw the tile to the floor, took out something from her pocket, and stretched to her full height. Her head and the top of her shoulders disappeared in the square hole above.

     By this time, Leonor's hands were firmly tied at the wrists. The Captain pushed the bewildered girl forward, so that every prisoner should see her.

     "One of you had committed a grave offense," he intoned, "And, in response, one of you will be punished. The vile words uttered in this room are not only offensive and disrespectful; they amount to treason against the Nation and its Head. The punishment will be accordingly severe."

     Sergeant Velez banged her head on something and swore loudly. The Captain lifted his face.

     "Are you done?" he asked her.

     "In a moment," replied the woman, who was still busy doing something invisible to the pipes. She stood with her back to everyone, her large square body effectively shielding her work.

     "All right, now I'm done," she declared at last. She stepped down from the chair but remained standing on the table.

     Now the prisoners could see what was hidden behind the Sergeant. There was a collective intake of breath followed by gasps of shock and horror. Leonor Serrano took a glance upward and shrieked.

     Tied securely to a stout pipe, a piece of hemp rope was hanging down from the ceiling. It ended in a noose.

     "No-o!!!" wailed Leonor.

     De La Peña made a step forward and raised his voice. "I hereby sentence prisoner—" he checked his notes "—Leonor Serrano to death by hanging. The sentence is to be carried out immediately."

     Bianca Vea, the younger warden, pushed Leonor toward the table and into the hands of Tatiana Velez, who got down to her knees, grabbed the stunned, unresisting girl, and pulled. Working together, they lifted her to the top of the table, where she was made to stand straight. Tatiana placed herself in front of Leonor, the noose hanging freely between them. The girl was starting at the rope, as though it were a snake that was about to bite her. Tatiana grinned and pushed the noose closer to Leonor until the rope brushed against her breasts. The girl made a feeble attempt to get away.

     "Velez, enough of your cat-and-mouse games," demanded the Captain. "Get on with it."

     "Right, Boss!" answered Tatiana. Still grinning, she let go of the rope.

     At this moment Leonor found her voice.

     "Please don't kill me," she whimpered, "I didn't do it! I said nothing, I swear. Please! I don't want to die..."

     Tatiana smiled openly and reached into her pocket. She retrieved a simple black plastic bag, the kind used to pack groceries.

     "Regulations require us to use hoods for hangings," she said. "What a pity."

     She put the bag over Leonor's head, covering it completely. She pulled on the handles, stretching the plastic, and gathered the loose ends in one hand. She took the rope with the other hand and in one neat move noosed the girl. Finally, she tightened the loop on Leonor’s neck, securing the hood in place. The whole operation took only a few seconds – obviously, Tatiana was a pro at such things.

       "All's ready!" Tatiana beamed at her handiwork, then turned around and jumped to the floor. Leonor remained alone on the table, crying wordlessly under her hood, the sobs muffled by the black plastic. She made a movement as though to shrug off the noose but only managed to make it tighter.

     Tatiana walked to the Captain, stopped in front of him, and clicked her heels.

     "Sir! Requesting permission to send this bird to Hell," she sung cheerfully.

     De La Peña frowned. "You are enjoying it a bit too much, Sergeant. Fine, go ahead."

     Tatiana returned to the table. Despite the Captain's displeasure she could not resist one more indulgence. "Prepare to fly, dear!" she cackled, stroking the girl's naked thighs. At last, she let go of Leonor and grabbed the edge of the table to push it away from under the doomed girl's feet.

     "Wait! Wait!" cried someone.

     Tatiana stopped and turned toward the sound. So did everyone else.

     One of the prisoners in last row made a step forward. It was Ramona Portillo, the red-haired, sharp-tongued beauty, who laughed often and was always in good mood. However, she wasn't laughing this time.

     "Wait!" repeated Ramona, looking straight at the Captain.

     "You are interfering with the administration of justice," said De La Peña in a warning tone. "Do you have something to say?"

     "Yes, I do! You shouldn’t kill Leonor, because it wasn’t her who said these things. It was I who did it! Punish me, instead."

     The Captain allowed himself a little smile. "I thought I’d flush someone out... So, I understand that you want to be hanged?"

     Ramona swallowed but answered firmly. "Yes. I don't want to see my friend die for my actions."

     "Very well." De La Peña beckoned to the wardens. "Vea, Santana! Bring me this prisoner!"

     The wardens attempted to seize Ramona, but she shook them off and marched to the front on her own accord, her face set in a grim determination. With her chin up and her back straight, she stood defiantly, while Santana tied her hands.

     "I am ready!" said Ramona loudly and turned to look at Leonor, who, although she could not see what just transpired, understood that she wasn't going to die after all and sagged with quiet relief.

     "You will be dealt with shortly," the Captain told Ramona. "But first, we need to attend to the business at hand. Justice cannot be kept waiting." Addressing Tatiana, he spoke in a clear, calm voice, "Sergeant, proceed with the execution."

     Leonor screamed. Tatiana Velez sprung to the table and, this time without stopping to tease or chat, kicked it out from under Leonor's feet. The scream stopped abruptly.

     The hanged girl's body swung wildly from side to side, turning around and around, until Tatiana caught it in mid-swing. With few light touches Tatiana checked Leonor's wild gyrations and left her to hang in a motionless, strictly vertical position. She even turned the body to face the ranks of prisoners. The first several seconds the girl did not move at all, her limbs tense with the effort of strangulation. Then, as the fresh air in her lungs was getting exhausted, Leonor began to squirm. She strained against the bond that held her arms; then she lifted her legs a little, bending them at the knees and curling her toes. Her chest expanded and contracted in a rapid succession.

     "Don't you like flying, dear?" jeered Tatiana. A look from her commanding officer cut her off.

     The hood made Leonor's head appear as nearly featureless black ball, attached to the rest of the body in a weird off-center manner. The body twisted and jerked but the ball remained at rest. A small part of the hood's edge had escaped the noose, and Nadia was horrified to see clear liquid drip from under the loose end. Was that tears, mucus, saliva, or sweat – or perhaps a mixture of all of these? Nadia did not want to know. She was only grateful that she couldn't see the hanged girl's face.

     Soon, Leonor ceased moving. Her limbs straightened and relaxed, as her body gradually lost its tension. The liquid stopped dripping from under the hood.

     "Bianca," called Tatiana her younger assistant. "Check if the bitch is dead."

     Bianca stood on her toes and put an ear against the hanging girl's breast.

     "The heart’s still beating, sort of," she reported.

     "I can break her neck," offered Inez Santana. This was the first time in the whole evening that the older Warden had said anything aloud.

     "Nah." responded Tatiana. "Just let her hang. I am sure she enjoys it."

     The Captain lifted his hand. "Why don't you prepare the next one? We don't have all day, you know."

     Ramona Portillo reacted to the news of her impending demise with profound indifference. After she realized that her brave self-sacrifice was in vain, the fighting spirit left her, and she stood with dejected air, staring gloomily into the ground, while her friend strangled in the noose. Now it was her turn. Without much prompting, she stepped onto the table and meekly allowed herself to be hooded and noosed.

     "Ladies and Gentlemen," announced Tatiana in a sneeringly cheerful voice, "I have a special treat for you. I give you – table dance!"

     She took hold of the table, but instead of pushing it, she lifted one edge. Ramona started to slide off the tilted surface. Her feet fought for purchase – that was the table dance Tatiana promised – but the Sergeant lifted the edge ever higher, and the girl’s struggles were getting ever more desperate.

     "Ladies and Gentlemen," called Tatiana, "I give you – sexy samba!" She lifted the table one last time and Ramona slid off completely.

     Just as Tatiana promised, the hanged girl was dancing like mad. The trick with the table ensured that the victim got no drop, and so the girl was suffering. She made jumping and kicking moves; scissored her legs; and wrapped one around the other. She bent her torso in all directions; she shook her hips and ass as though she was truly doing samba. Even her bound arms participated in the dance: she punctuated her moves by slapping her butt, loudly and repeatedly.

     At times, Nadia could almost believe that Ramona really danced, so genuinely exuberant were the girl’s movements. Nadia had to remind herself that what she was seeing was not dance but painful agony. As much as Leonor's end was quiet and peaceful, Ramona's was vicious and violent. She would stop moving for a second, but then begin anew with even wilder energy. Her muscle rippled; her body glistened with sweat; there was so much vitality in that girl that it began to look as though she would never stop.

     De La Peña drummed his finger on the back of the chair. "I think I've had just about enough of this. Vea! Santana! Finish her off."

     The older Warden went behind the hanged girl and embraced her by the waist; while the younger one kneeled in front, hugging Ramona's legs. "One, two, three!" Both women pulled down on the body, adding as much of their weight as they could. Ramona bucked and tried, unconsciously, to shake them off; the women had to hold on to the body with all their strength. Ramona fought fiercely, as the raped woman fights her rapist; but she could not free herself from this deadly embrace. The wardens’ efforts were bearing fruit: Ramona's neck was becoming longer and narrower; her head jutted out at an even more unnatural angle; and her struggles were getting progressively weaker. She wriggled feebly once more and then stopped altogether.

     A second later, the younger Warden – Bianca – shrieked and jumped to her feet. "Bitch!" She slapped the dead girl and tried to kick her with a knee. The cause of her ire became apparent as she turned toward the prisoners: Bianca’s face was drenched, and a big wet spot was spreading down the front of her shirt. She wiped her face with a sleeve, spit, and cursed once more, looking miserable.

     "Good job, Ramona," whispered Nadia, looking at the inert body that hung behind the Warden. "You pissed into her mouth!"

     Thus, an executed girl unknowingly managed to take a small revenge on her executioner.

(to be continued)

PART 2

     There was no dinner that night, nor did anyone want to eat anyway. The girls spent the night talking among themselves in low, frightened tones, asking each other same questions over and over. Was the whole thing just a sham in order to provoke one of the girls and then execute her as a lesson for others? Who was De La Peña and what did he want? What was to become of them in the future? No one knew the answers, and so the girls ended up doing what they usually did at night. While the more prudish (or the more tired) of them slept, the rest gave each other that special kind of comfort, which compensated for the lack of male companionship.

     Next morning brought a fresh surprise. The prisoners were ordered to shower again, this time with each shift afforded a full twenty minutes in the shower room. The girls were told that, from now on, the bathtime would be an obligatory part of each day, and moreover, they were commanded to brush their teeth. A surly Gualtiero, who had to get up early to get the boiler going, distributed toothbrushes and little tubes of toothpaste.

     After the morning toilet was over, the girls were marched to the Canteen for breakfast. The furniture was back to its customary place

     After the morning toilet was over, the girls were marched to the Canteen for breakfast. The tables and chairs were back; but instead of the usual two long rows, the furniture was arranged into three shorter rows: two along the walls and one in the middle. The far portion of the room was emptied out and made into a separate area, the purpose of which had nothing to do with eating. It took only one glance to understand what the newly cleared space was for: at one end of it hung the bodies of Ramona and Leonor.

     Apparently, the yesterday’s brutal lesson wasn't over yet.

     The executed women were left to dangle overnight in the same position in which they died. The corpses had changed since yesterday; they looked rather like a pair of monstrous cartoonish dolls. Their necks were stretched impossibly long; their legs and stomachs were swollen; the skin had become purplish and mottled spots. Black blood pooled in their hands, feet, and the lower parts of their breasts. One could only guess what was hidden behind the featureless black plastic that covered the faces.

     The prisoners stared at the bodies, unable to move. Everyone was thinking, "One of these horrible things could’ve been me." The pause lasted a long time. After the impression sank in well, the girls were made to sit at the tables and a surprisingly large breakfast was laid out in front of them. Nadia doubted that she could make herself eat in full view of the corpses; but when she saw the food she realized that she was ravenous. So were all the other girls, who wolfed down the breakfast in a record time.

     When the breakfast was over, the door opened right on cue to let in the tall figure of the Commandant. "Stand up!" yelled Tatiana at the prisoners. The girls jumped to their feet. "Five-rows formation! Now!" screamed Tatiana. "Move it! Move your lazy asses!"

     There was only one spot large enough for such formation: the empty area in front of the hanging bodies. Under a constant stream of abuse the girls arranged themselves into five rows – this time in a reverse alphabetical order, so Nadia ended up in the first row. The Commandant placed himself right before her, and, without preamble, started to talk.

     It was the second installment of yesterday's speech – the same demands of sacrifice, promises of hard work, and condemnation of enemies, interspersed with pearls of wisdom from General Vilareal. The prisoners listened attentively. No matter how long the speech was going to be, no one dared to utter a single word.

     Eventually, the Commandant got around to Santa Margarita and its inhabitants.

     "You are here because you committed serious offenses against the society," he told the prisoners, "But this does not mean that you cannot pay your debts. You can still serve the society by participating in the war effort, and I don't mean sewing. You will play a more important role in the future. This is all I will say for now; details will be communicated in the due time. In order for you to perform you new tasks adequately, you will be kept clean, well-fed, and healthy; but your privileges come with responsibilities, and chief among them is maintaining strict discipline. All violators, without exception, will be severely punished." The Commandant didn't have to say what he meant by severe punishment: right behind his back were two grizzly illustrations. "Among prohibited activities," he continued, "are the treasonous or otherwise disloyal statements, any criticism of General Vilareal or other high officials, disobedience toward a guard or a Warden, ownership of forbidden items, unnatural carnality, theft of government property, violations of prison regime, and so forth. The complete list of prohibited activities is posted outside the Commandant's office. Furthermore—"

     "But sir," Nadia blurted out without thinking, "We are not allowed to go anywhere near..." She sputtered and came to a full stop as she realized what she'd done.

     De La Peña gave her a cold stare.

     "What's your name?"

     "Nadia Serna," whispered Nadia.

     "Prisoner Serna, interrupting your correctional officer is forbidden under Rule 18."

     Nadia could already see herself swinging next to Ramona and Leonor. She felt her bladder relax; warm liquid trickled lazily down her thighs. Her comrades stared at her with horrified expressions.

     The Captain noticed none of that. His eyes never left Nadia’s face. "Violation of Rule 18 is punished by hanging," he told her, "However, as this is your first offense, I am letting you off with a warning." And he was back to his speech, picking up where he left off. The incident was over.

    

     "I thought you were a goner," said Katia later. She and Nadia sat across from each other in the prison’s shabby basement workshop, operating antiquated sewing machines. All around them, laid piles of thick, itchy fabric pre-cut into shapes by other prisoners. Katia’s and Nadia’s job was to sew these pieces into a crude approximation of male underthings, while the other girls – those not busy cutting – used slightly sturdier machines to make camouflage pants and coats. The work, though not hard, was mind-numbingly dull, so the girls alleviated boredom by chatting. There was even some degree of privacy here, made possible by the general level of noise.

     "Oh please," replied Nadia, "Not you too! It took me hours to recover, and remarks such as this are not helping. Let's not talk about executions."

     "Fine. Let's talk about something else." Katia shrugged. "I am open to suggestions."

     "Any new gossip about sex?"

     "As a matter of fact, yes. Elena and Fat Kat are back together, or so I heard. And Julia has to find someone new, now that Ramona Portillo is... oh, sorry." Katia winced.

     "That's all right. I am better now," assured her Nadia. In truth, she wasn’t better at all. She desperately needed to change the subject. "Let's get back to sex. Have you ever thought about how sexy our work is?" she asked out of the blue.

     Katia arched her eyebrows. "Our work?"

     "Yes. We make underwear for soldiers. Think of it: underwear! Take this, for example—" Nadia lifted a piece of fabric, "—In the very near future it will hold some young soldier's dick." She wrapped the fabric around her finger to illustrate.

     Katia took the wrapped finger to her lips and kissed it lightly. "Ah, sweet, young dick..." she sighed. Suddenly, she giggled.

     "What's so funny?" asked Nadia crossly.

     "These guys... in the Army..." said Katia between the giggles, "They are just as sexually deprived as we are. Imagine what they’d say if they knew that their underpants were made by a couple of naked girls! I so want to see the expressions on their faces!" She stopped laughing abruptly and looked forlorn. "I really do want to see…"

      "Oh, come on, we are not that deprived," comforted her Nadia. "We have each other."

     "I mean no disrespect," answered Katia grumpily, "What we do is very nice and sweet. But our little games can't be compared to playing with a real dick."

     "What about the guards?"

     "Oh no, that's even worse! Not only doesn't this count, but... Oh, you just had to bring up the guards! Why did you have to do it? Did you forget that tonight is my turn?"

     It was Nadia’s turn to wince. "I am very, very sorry. I won't mention it again."

     Katia grumbled something in response, but her answer was covered by the oscillating hum of sewing machines.

       The dinner was quite generous – it even included some meat. For the first time in years, Nadia felt truly sated. Her mood improved; later in the evening, lying in bed, she reflected that this wasn't such a bad day, considering. True, she had a bad fright, but neither De La Peña, not the Warden had shown themselves since the morning, and if she kept out of their way and kept her mouth shut, she would be okay. She smiled to herself and turned to listen to what others were talking about.

     The dorm room was abuzz with girl-chatter. It always was this time of night, but today the talk was livelier than usual. Almost everyone had something to say.

     "I haven't had chicken since I was arrested," shared Juana Diaz, whose bed was next to Nadia's.

     "Fresh avocados! Can you imagine?" replied someone on the far end of the room. "Why did they start feeding us like that, anyway?"

     "I know why," said Estela Garrido. "The bitch told me when I was working in the kitchen. She said that this is no longer a prison but a cattle farm! She said they are going to fatten us, and then they'll slaughter us for meat. You know, to feed the soldiers. More food for the war effort, like the man said."

     Her words were met with horrified silence. She held a pause, then laughed. "Ha-ha-ha! Got you!"

     "Not funny!" said several voices.

     "Oh, come on, don’t be so uptight," told them Estela, "Stop taking everything so seriously. You gotta work on your sense of humor; otherwise you won’t survive in prison for long. I know what I am talking about," she added wisely, "I’ve been in and out of prison for most of my life."

     This was true. Estela, in her previous life, was a high-class prostitute, and her rap sheet was a mile long. She liked to call herself the only real criminal in Santa Margarita. She was not connected to any of the factions, and so wasn’t arrested for political reasons; she simply was with a wrong client at a wrong time. She was a curvy, lush brunette with cynical eyes and absolutely no inhibitions; a bit past her prime but still oozing sex from every pore. Estella loved to entertain the girls with her war stories, often startling even the most experienced of them with her descriptions of rare forms and methods of physical love.

     "The cannibal jokes are not funny," insisted young Ana Salvador, who was so prim and proper that she always refused even to experiment with another woman.

     "Whatever you say, honey."

     Estella stretched on the bed, put her hands on each of her breasts, and casually rubbed her nipples. "Big dinners make me horny," she announced to the world. She looked at Julia Perez. "Hey, Julia, wanna fuck? I hear your girlfriend has kicked the bucket."

     "Shut up!" replied Julia angrily.

     "Oh please. Don't go all tragic on me. You have a very simple choice – either you fuck me, or you can go up to the Canteen and try to fuck what’s left of your dear Ramona."

     Julia began to cry.

     "So which of us it’s gonna be?" asked Estella, calmly cleaning her nails.

     "You are nasty!" accused Ana.

     "Guilty as charged," agreed Estella, "But I am also cute and sexy as hell."

     "If you are so horny," Katia spoke up, "Why don't you replace me tonight with the guard?"

     Estella shook her head. "I may be horny but I am not masochistic. By the way, where is your lover du jour?"

     At exactly that moment, there was a sound of uncertain steps behind the dorm door and a slurred male voice called, "Hello-o-o, my whores! Guess who's gonna guard you tonight!"

     "I suppose, this answers my question," smirked Estella.

     The door opened to admit Ignacio Escobar. He was a bald, big-bellied man, a father of four, and the oldest guard at Santa Margarita. Ignacio was a reasonably nice man when he was sober… but now he was roaring drunk.

     He turned his head from side to side. In one hand he held a bottle of brandy. "So, who is gonna be my bitch for today?"

     Several girls quickly pointed at Katia, who sighed, got up from the bed reluctantly, and came forward.

     "Not bad," said Ignacio, looking her over. "I see you took off you clothes already. I like it when they are eager and ready."

     "Where would you like it, sir?" asked Katia.

     There were really only two choices. The guards could fuck the prisoners as much as they wanted, but there was an unwritten rule: if they got any of the girls pregnant, they would be instantly dismissed or worse. This was why all guards limited their interactions with the prisoners to either oral or anal sex. With Ignacio though, the choice was always the same.

     "Turn around. I’ll stick it up your ass."

     Katia spinned on her heals and leaned forward, presenting him with her open buttocks. Ignacio pulled down his pants and, turning left and right, triumphantly demonstrated to the girls his already erect cock. He then placed himself right behind Katia and put his cock against her butt hole. Before he started, he gulped one big swallow from his bottle and poured the rest of the brandy into Katia's crack to lubricate his entry. He tossed the empty bottle onto someone’s bed, took hold of Katia's hips, and pushed.

     Brandy must have been a poor choice of lubricant, because Katia's ass did not admit him at first. Ignoring Katia’s moans of pain, he pushed stronger and stronger, until his cock’s head had penetrated her sphincter. He stopped to wink at his audience; then, with a powerful movement of his bulky torso, he shoved his cock all the way in.

     Katia screamed.

     For the next ten minutes Ignacio was pumping away at Katia’s ass. The whole of her body, together with the bedpost she held on to, shook rhythmically in tact with his thrusts. As his passions rose, he started to pinch and slap her mercilessly, enjoying the sounds of her distress. His favorite targets were Katia’s buttocks; he kept slamming his fists into their softness, treating Katia’s tender flesh as if it were a punching bag. To get him off as fast as possible, Katia tightened her sphincter muscles, using all her remaining strength to squeeze his cock. This worked: soon Ignacio was jerking spasmodically, filling Katia’s asshole with seed. One last slap and he withdrew. He turned around and staggered away with not so much as a last glance at Katia. He reached a cot near the door, yawned loudly, and stretched on top of it. Soon, he was sound asleep.

     Walking slowly and stiffly, Katia dragged herself to her bed and fell onto her stomach. Her face was hidden, but her shoulders shook silently. She was crying into her pillow.

     Nadia came over to Katia's bed and sat on the edge. There were bruises all over Katia's body; her buttocks were swollen and bright-red. Nadia lowered her face close to Katia's bottom and gently spread the cheeks. Nadia looked at Katia's little hole, rubbed raw and still half-open, and blew on it gently to cool it down.

     "This feels good," whispered Katia.

     Nadia lowered her head a bit further and swabbed her tongue around the opening, licking off brandy mixed with Ignacio’s cum. Katia moaned, partly with pain but also with pleasure. Encouraged, Nadia licked some more, then inserted a finger into her friend's other hole. She touched the clit, and Katia’s cries became pure delight.

     Keeping her face buried in Katia’s crack, Nadia finger-fucked her friend vigorously. She used her other hand for her own stimulation. Katia’s voice was getting louder; and it was answered by echo, which seemed to be coming from every direction at once. Nadia lifted her head and saw a dozen of other couples going at each other all around them, adding their voices to the growing chorus of orgasms.

     Nadia smiled at the view and returned to the business at hand.

       An hour later, the girls were on the edge of exhaustion. Katia kissed the last of her own pussy juice off Nadia's face and smiled timidly. "Maybe we’ve had enough for today."

     "No!" protested Nadia, "I am not ready to stop yet!" She was betrayed by a wide yawn.

     "But I am still sore," said Katia, "Besides; almost everyone is back to their beds."

     Nadia looked around. Only two couples were still busy making love. On the next bed were Elena Castro and Catherina Alvarez, entwined in the 69 position; and a bit further away, Teresa Covas sat on Carmen Lozano's face and poked Carmen’s pussy with a length of plastic pipe.

     "It’s getting late," Nadia agreed reluctantly. "But promise me that we'll pick up tomorrow just where we left off."

     Katia's smile widened. "I promise."

     Nadia slid off her friend's bed and climbed onto her own. Her pussy was throbbing with pleasant memories of her friend’s tongue, so she couldn’t fall asleep that easily. She laid her head on the pillow and allowed herself to feel tired. She closed her eyes.

     Suddenly, the doors burst open; the room was flooded with bright light. Nadia opened her eyes, and was instantly blinded. There was a sound of running boots and a series of crushes.

     "Got them!" exclaimed Tatiana’s voice merrily. "I told you we’d find some."

     Shielding her face from the glare, Nadia opened her eyes a crack. Tatiana was talking to Captain De La Peña, who stood there in full uniform, looking even sterner than usual. Between them, four girls lay face down on the floor. They were Elena, Catherina, Teresa, and Carmen – the two couples who were making love only a minute ago.

     "Tie them up," ordered De La Peña the guards, "And you," he addressed the rest of the prisoners, "You make the formation."

     He glowered as the girls arranged themselves in neat rows. Without waiting for them to assemble in full, he spoke.

     "These prisoners —" he pointed with his finger, "—were found in the middle of engaging in a variety of homosexual acts. Unnatural sexual relationships are strictly prohibited under Rule 3. This behavior is punishable with death by hanging, to be administered immediately."

     Teresa, the youngest of the four, cried out in terror. She got kicked in the ribs.

     "Sergeant Velez, I authorize you to proceed with the hangings," said the Captain.

     "Hey, Boss," said Tatiana. "We can’t hang them here in the dorm – there is nothing to tie a rope on. And we can’t hang them in the Canteen because there is no light there at night. We could hang them outside, from a tree or from the roof cornice; but we need the other bitches to watch the execution, and letting them out at this hour is a major security risk."

     De La Peña nodded. "You are right, Sergeant. It’s an oversight on my part. Eventually, we will need to build real gallows; but today the condemned will have to wait until morning…"

     "Permission to speak, Sir," piped in Bianca Vea.

     "Go ahead."

     "We could hang them in the showers. Sir."

     "Damn!" exclaimed Tatiana, "You are right!"

     "Well done, Vea," said the Captain. Bianca brightened.

     "We’ll make an executioner out of you yet," congratulated her Tatiana.

     The Commandant straightened. "Now listen to my orders. Velez, Santana: escort the condemned prisoners to the shower room and prepare them for execution. Vea and everyone else: round up the others and follow Velez."

     The four girls were taken away. The rest of the company filed out of the door after them, under the watchful eyes of the guards. Only one man had remained behind: the forgotten Ignacio Escobar, who was still sleeping on his cot as though nothing had happened.

       Twenty minutes later, everyone was gathered the shower room. The audience was crowded together in a tight semicircle, at the focus of which stood Elena, Catherina, Teresa, and Carmen. The condemned girls were placed in a row along the wall, each under her own shower head. Their feet rested on top of low blocks of wood, and their arms were held at the sides by loops of rope that went below the breasts and across the stomach. Their backs were pressed against the wall’s cold ceramic tiles.

     If the purpose was to root out homosexuality, the authorities did extremely well. Elena "The Dyke" Castro was the prison's only Lesbian, and her old flame Catherina "Fat Kat" Alvarez was one of only three bisexuals.

     Elena, the older one, was the couple's dominant partner. She was tall, thin to the point of desiccation, and virtually breastless; her bony bespectacled face could've belonged to a schoolteacher. The girls who tried it said that Elena had a long and flexible tongue, which felt very nice in right places.

     Fat Kat was Elena's opposite: she was short and fleshy, with hanging breasts and a soft, perfectly round butt. Her face was round, too, and almost as soft. After months of prison life, Fat Kat had lost a lot of weight but was still heavy enough to warrant her nickname.

     Even though they were minutes from death, Elena and Catherina could not take their eyes off each other. Nadia was touched by their love for each other; but for the new regime it was apparently an evil to be destroyed on the spot.

     Teresa Covas and Carmen Lozano, the other two girls to be hanged tonight, were as much alike as Elena and Catherina were different. They were both quite young – Teresa was nineteen and Carmen only two years older – and very pretty. Both were about the same height; both had long black hair, brown eyes, and cute, perky breasts. Teresa's face was almost childlike in its innocence, while Carmen looked a bit more mature but still younger than her real age. Neither of them was Lesbian or even bisexual; the only thing that drove them into each other's arms was curiosity enhanced by the lack of a suitable male company. They were like nearly every other girl in this facility, and other girls could not help but see their own reflections. Nadia shuddered when she thought how close she and her beloved Katia came to sharing the same fate.

      Bianca Vea finished counting the prisoners and declared, "Everything is ready!"

     Elena threw an encouraging glance at her lover, and Catherina smiled back weakly. The younger girls, who were not nearly as brave, started sniveling.

     "Great," responded Tatiana. She gave the condemned women an appraising look and then said, "We'll hang the uglies first."

     At Tatiana’s sign, Ines Santana took out a black plastic bag and placed it over Elena’s head. She tied a noose around Elena's neck and adjusted the knot, then leaped on a stool, picked up the other end of the rope, and pulled it so far upward that poor Elena was forced to stand on her toes. Apparently, this was a teachable moment, because Santana paused to point something out for her younger comrade’s benefit. Bianca nodded her understanding, and Santana, satisfied, jumped to the floor. She made few last checks, and then, without any ceremony, pulled away the wooden block under Elena’s feet.

     The hanged woman dropped a quarter of an inch, but there was no other visible reaction at first. The rope bit deeply into Elena’s neck, but otherwise, little had changed. It was as though Elena still stood on top of some invisible but firm object. After a few seconds of this, Elena tentatively moved her foot forward. She lifted it up, higher and higher, until she froze, as if poised to take a long step. Instead, she let the foot drop, her heel kicking the wall behind. After a pause, Elena repeated the same move with the other foot. She did several such "steps," going faster every time but remaining firmly in place. She paused again, made fists with her bound hands, and slowly raised both feet at once. With her ass pushing against the wall, Elena extended her legs and held them almost parallel to the ground. Then, unable to keep it up for long, she brought the outstretched limbs down with all her force. The impact shook her body all over and made the old shower pipe creak with tension.

     Every Elena’s move was followed by dozens of eyes. Even Carmen and Teresa, though their faces were with terror, could not resist looking at their near future. Only Elena’s girlfriend Catherina purposefully stared in the opposite direction.

     Everyone was deathly silent, and at first, the only sounds in the room were the creaks of the pipe and the slaps of bare flesh against the tiles. But Tatiana could not remain silent for long. She began snickering, then openly laughing. She provided running commentary in loud stage whisper. "It takes you longer to croak if you are hanged against a wall," she explained to no one in particular, "Especially if you are a girl."

     Elena lifted her knees to the stomach and Tatiana hooted. "Naughty, naughty! I can see all the way into your cunt." Elena spread her knees apart as far as they would go. A tremor went through her body; one could see her vaginal muscles spasm.

     "Hey, doesn’t this chick look like she is being fucked?" called Tatiana as though she just made an amazing discovery. "The whore even shakes her ass as though she is sitting on a cock." Tatiana cackled as if she said something funny. No one joined her. Unfazed, she continued, "You know, I was fucked like this recently. Doesn’t matter by whom. The man lifted my ass, pinned me against a wall, and pushed his cock inside. He even choked me a little. You can say I felt what this whore feel right now," Tatiana flicked a finger in Elena’s direction, "Except that I felt less pressure in my neck area and more pressure inside my cunt, he-he-he!"

     "Stop it!" Captain De La Peña interrupted sharply. "Sergeant, you are drunk!"

     "I am not!" protested Tatiana.

     "Sir!" interrupted them Santana. "The first one is done, sir!"

     This seemed to be true. Elena hung motionlessly at last, straight as a pole. Tatiana went to check the pulse and confirm the death. A strange expression passed through Tatiana’s face as she touched the dead woman’s hand, something that looked like a strange mixture of revulsion and delight. But as soon as the expression appeared, it was gone.

     "This one is finished," Tatiana announced. "The fat one is the next to go."

     Catherina Alvarez underwent the hooding and noosing ritual without looking at anyone or making a sound. In her mind, she was already hung. Only when she felt the support slip from under her feet, she gave a small cry. This was the last sound she ever made, as her throat had closed forever.

     Fat Kat intended to hang peacefully but her body had other ideas. The woman started squirming in the noose; she lifted one shoulder and another, trying to free her hands; but she only succeeded in rubbing her butt and shoulder blades against the tiles. She twisted and kicked her feet, causing her heavy breasts to sway from side to side. Then she bent her knees and arched her back, bringing her hips so far forward that she touched the wall only with her heels. She let go and crashed into the wall with a thunderous slapping noise.

     "The fat one is pretty lively," said Tatiana. "She is so heavy, I thought she would be dead by now."

     But Catherina was far from being dead. She arched her back once more, this time even further than before. The rope that held her neck tightened to the limit. There was another loud slap as Catherina’s body smashed into the tiles. Her ample buttocks served as springs, causing the body to bounce off and turn around in the air. She made a full 180 degrees and slammed into the wall again, her breasts and stomach taking the brunt of the impact.

      "The bitch looks as if she was spanked with a steel paddle," observed Tatiana.

     Now that Catherina had turned away from them, the girls could see that her back and buttocks were purple and blue with bruises. Fat Kat’s big ass was lumpy and swollen, and looked even bigger.

     "Nice spanking!" said Tatiana. "And she did it all herself. Isn’t hanging them against the wall grand?" She laughed even louder than before, despite the sharp glances from her commander. Apparently, Tatiana was one of those people who found executions hilarious.

     Catherina continued to struggle in the noose, flopping and floundering, rubbing her breasts on the tiles, kicking feebly the hard surface with her knees and toes. It was taking her a long time to expire. Nadia wished someone would put the woman out of her misery, but after the incident the other day when Bianca was forced to drink Ramona Portillo’s pee, none of the Wardens were eager to volunteer and the Captain was unwilling to order them. So no one did anything until Catherina ceased to move and hung still.

     Tatiana made sure that hanged woman was properly asphyxiated. Everything seemed to be in order, and the Sergeant stepped over to the next victim. Carmen Lozano was to hang next. She cried and pleaded so piteously that she had to be gagged. Then she was hooded and noosed in rapid succession, and the block was kicked away from under her feet. Less than thirty seconds after the beginning of her preparations, Carmen was dancing in the air.

     Perhaps it was the girl’s youthful strength, or perhaps Bianca did not do a good job on tying the prisoners, but Carmen freed her hands almost right away. Immediately, she started to claw at her throat. Of course, this had accomplished nothing because, within seconds, the rope had dug so deeply into her neck that was impossible to get even a fingernail under the constricting loop. After much prying and scratching, Carmen gave up let her hands fall away from the neck.

     But she did not keep them idle. She slapped her sides or punched the empty air; at one point she even grabbed her knees and hung for a while in a sitting position. As Carmen’s desperation grew, her dance intensified. She bent her spine every which way. One moment, she spread her legs far apart; the next, she twisted them around each other. Then she began to kick irregularly, every once in a while hitting the wall with her heels. One of such kicks sent her body swaying broadly from side to side.

     When no one thought it could get any worse for the hanging girl, something unexpected happened. One of Carmen’s flailing arms hit a faucet handle which controlled the shower. The shower head came to life and began to spout powerful jets onto the body underneath it. The girl was instantly soaked. Water drummed on top of the plastic hood; it landed on the shoulders and streamed down the stomach and the sides; it sprung from fingers and toes, dripped from breasts and thighs, and finally fell to the floor. Carmen moved even faster, as if she was in greater agony than before. She sprayed the naked bodies of the nearest prisoners, who instinctively recoiled: the water was hot! Blistering hot water, straight from the boiler, was running down the hanging girl’s body, covering her with gleaming film. Carmen shook and twisted in pain; her skin was quickly changing color. She turned the brightest shade of red, an unpleasant hue reminiscent of boiled lobsters. The body had begun to steam, and soon was obscured by billowing white clouds. It was impossible to see what was happening behind them.

     After a long interval – too long – the Captain ordered it to stop. Stepping carefully over hot puddles on the floor, Ines Santana approached the dead girl. She turned off the water. The clouds quickly dissipated and Carmen’s body came into view. Nadia could not believe that this grotesque, dripping-wet thing with curled fingers and toes only recently was a beautiful young girl.

     Santana touched Carmen's breast and immediately withdrew her hand. "Ow! That burns!"

     Tatiana laughed her macabre laugh. "The bitch is not only hanged, but cooked as well. Well, at least there is no need to wash the body."

     De La Peña caught Tatiana’s eye and tapped meaningfully on his watch. "Let’s move on," she said quickly, " Three down, one to go. Or should I say, three up? Ha-ha-ha! Umm…"

     She walked over to the last condemned girl. Teresa Covas was shaking with fear; her teeth were audibly clattering. Tatiana took Teresa's hand, and the girl pressed herself against the wall.

     "Don't worry, I won't bite," said Tatiana, "I’ll hang you but I won't bite. My boss wants to hurry up, so I’ll give you a piece of advice. You saw what happened to your girlfriend?"

     Teresa nodded weakly.

     "So here's my advice," Tatiana went on, putting the hood on girl’s head and tying the noose around her neck. "If you don’t want to end up like your friend here, be a good girl and don't try anything funny. Being hung is not that bad, but just like with any other physical activity, you have to learn how to do it right. You have to behave yourself and not make any sudden moves. Don’t try to fight the rope, you won’t win. All that's going happen is that you’ll be a bit uncomfortable at first, then you’ll simply go to sleep. That’s all there is to it. Understand? Good! Now away with you."

     With these words Tatiana removed the stacked wooden planks that Teresa stood on.

      The girl took her executioner's advice seriously. For ten seconds or more, she hung without even moving a finger, waiting for the promised sleep. But it was increasingly hard for her to resist the body’s natural reactions, and finally the reflexes took over. Teresa kicked the thin air in front of her, tentatively at first. Her second kick was much stronger. The noose continued its work, and Teresa kicked the third time, giving it all she had…

     There was a loud crack like a gunshot, followed a fraction of a second later by more cracks and the groan of metal. Something fell to the floor with explosive noise.

     "Oh, crap!" shouted Tatiana.

     "Sorry," said Bianca. "I didn't know these things were so weak."

     Teresa’s last kick was too much for the metal pipe she hung on. Plaster crumbled; tiles cracked and fell off; and the bolts that kept the pipe in place were yanked out of their sockets. Forced to bear the weight of a body, the pipe was pulled right out of the wall. It bent considerably downward, making the shower head four inches lower. Teresa was no longer hanging but stood, just barely, on the tips of her toes.

     The girl’s breasts, shoulders, and hooded head were white with powdered plaster; shards of shattered tiles lay at her feet. Her chest was rising and falling; she could breathe now, albeit only with great difficulty – each time she inhaled or exhaled her throat produced a gurgling sound. She strained every muscle, raising herself up, working very hard on being as tall as possible.

     Her hood no longer fit snugly around her skull; the slippery plastic had escaped in places from under a slackened noose. One such place was in front, where the edge of the hood was pulled back high enough to reveal Teresa's open mouth, which was distorted by a grimace of fear and pain but also relief.

     Ines Santana shrugged. "It's just plumbing, not real gallows," she said, "Oh well; I guess we'll have to hang the bitch the second time."

     "No time," said the Captain, who hadn't spoken so far. "The prisoners have to be back in their beds. Hold on, let me inspect something first."

     He approached Teresa but paid no attention to the girl. Instead, he pulled on the exposed pipe above her head. The pipe did not budge; apparently, it was extended as far as it would ever go.

     "Good," said De La Peña.

     He turned his back to Teresa and announced loudly, "The show is over. Everyone, out!"

     "Wait, shouldn’t we hang her again? Perhaps on a tree outside?" asked Tatiana.

     "She is not going anywhere," replied the Captain quietly. Then, shouting at the prisoners, "Now move it! Don't crowd near the exits!"

     Behind the Captain, Teresa stepped from foot to foot, trying to maintain her precarious balance. To lose footing in her position meant death. She attempted to speak but all that came out from her mouth was, "Gghhhh...Ghhrlm..." No one listened to her.

     De La Peña was the last to leave. He made sure all the prisoners were out of the room and no one was hiding in any nooks or crannies – not that the shower room had many of those. He made a mental check of everything in the room, then glanced at three executed prisoners and one living girl, who desperately fought to keep standing on her toes. "This is extremely unprofessional," he muttered to himself. "I need to build us real gallows." He turned off the lights; then closed and locked the door, leaving poor Teresa Covas totally alone in absolute darkness.

       Next morning the prisoners were rounded up and, in what had already become a familiar routine, sent to the showers. Nadia had been assigned to the earliest shift, so she was one of the first people to enter the shower room.

     All the evidence of yesterday's quadruple execution was still in place. Three corpses hung from shower heads along the opposite wall. One of them had red-brick skin caused by hot water; another, a plump one, was facing the wall. Their feet were perhaps a bit closer to the floor but still far enough not to touch it.

     Next to the three hanging figures was the fourth, which stood upright. The girl’s mouth, still visible below the black hood, was now closed. Her teeth were clenched tight, but her lips were parted somewhat in what appeared to be a half-grin. She no longer danced on her toes but stood rigidly, with her feet planted firmly on the ground. The noose slid up the length the girl’s throat and was attached just under the base of the skull. The pull of the rope and the squeeze of the noose were so strong that the neck was elongated to twice its former length and appeared to be cone-shaped. The girl’s head was tilted to the side at a sharp angle, one cheek resting against taut rope. The rope was the only thing that kept the body in the vertical position, as the girl had been dead for hours. She was as good as hanged.

     There were gasps, as more prisoners entered the room. The reality of yesterday’s events was brought home in the most brutal way possible. The girls stared at the scene, frozen in their immobility; no one dared to approach the showers. It was Estela Garrido, the former prostitute, who broke the impasse. Last to appear through the doors, she brushed past Nadia and walked forward without a slightest hesitation. She selected a shower stall right next to dead Teresa Covas, turned on the shower, and began to lather herself nonchalantly.

     "Come on in," she beckoned to other prisoners, "The water is fine!"

PART 3

     Three weeks later, Nadia was told to learn the carpenter’s trade. Along with the few other selected prisoners, she was marched to the former school gym and left in the care of Ignacio Escobar.

     The gym was a vast, two stories-tall room located directly under cafeteria. For years this space was used to store all kinds of junk until it was totally filled up; then it was padlocked and abandoned. Commandant De La Peña discovered the former gym during his first week in office, only two days after the memorable execution of two Lesbian couples who were caught in the act and hanged in the showers. The very next morning the Commandant decreed that the gym be renovated.

     Ignacio Escobar, who was something of a handyman, was put in charge of the project. He turned out to be a competent manager, at least when he was sober.

  Under his direction, the prisoners cleared the rubble, painted the walls, repaired the ceiling, installed new lighting, and accomplished a million of other small but necessary jobs. Now the renovation was almost over. Only one job still remained to be done.

     That morning Nadia and other prisoners sat in a circle around Señor Escobar, the guard-cum-construction manager. Nadia counted four women, not including herself. Monica Cubero was here, and Susana Espinosa, and young Ana Salvador; but most importantly, her Katia was here as well, once again assigned to work with her lover. This was by sheer luck and Nadia was so glad. She only wished they could do more than work together. Wouldn’t it be nice if, like in the old times, they could hug, stroke each other’s hair, then kiss, and afterwards…But it was all empty wishes that could never come true now. Even thinking about it was too dangerous. With difficulty, Nadia snapped back to the present.

     Ignacio Escobar was not a stickler for formalities, so the girls were free to assume relaxed poses. Nadia noted how thoroughly they had become accustomed to constant nudity; no girl was giving a second thought to how much she was revealing. Susana lay on her stomach, knees bent, toes up in the air; her big breasts were spilled on the floor before her. Monica sat cross-legged, leaning backwards, propping herself up with her arms. She was giving an inadvertent view of not only her open snatch but the asshole too. Katia’s legs were folded under her bum; but she had them parted and so showed almost as much of herself as Monica. Nadia enjoyed the view; she loved to catch a glimpse of Katia’s pussy every now and then. Even Ana Salvador, who was so priggish that she still tried to cover herself before the eyes of men, kept forgetting to close her knees, accidentally exposing her small, scrawny crack.

     Five girls were too few. There were supposed to be seven of them here, but Evita Sanchez and Esmeralda Carrera were escorted out of the canteen right after breakfast and they hadn’t returned yet. A guard said that the pair were required for another job; but what this job was, he couldn’t tell. Anyway, it didn’t look like Evita and Esmeralda were missing much.

     "Come closer, all of you" said Ignacio, "There is something I need to give you."

     Nadia and the others sidled toward him over the soft, shaggy surface of the floor. (For reasons known only to him, De La Peña ordered the room to be carpeted.) Ignacio goggled at asses, breasts, and pussies that surrounded him on all sides; even after weeks of guarding a prisonful of naked women he could not get enough of bare female flesh. It took him a rather long time to lift his eyes back to the level of girls’ faces; even then there was a notable bulge in the front of his pants. With a shade of regret, he reached into a large sack next to him and handed each girl a bundle of fabric.

     "Here, take this," he muttered.

     Nadia spread her bundle on the floor. It turned out to be a piece of clothes, sort of loose overalls made of thick and sturdy tent fabric. Nadia frowned. Clothes? What for?

     "You are required to wear this when you work," explained the guard. "The Commandant doesn’t want you to get scratched, or poked by a nail, or otherwise

damage your skin."

     That was peculiar. Why would a jailer worry about his prisoners’ skins? Captain De La Peña was obviously not the type to coddle his charges, so there had to be a reason. But no matter how hard Nadia tried to think of one, nothing occurred to her. She looked a question at Katia, who shook her head in response. So Katia did not understand this, either.

     "Come on, put it on!" urged Ignacio.

     The girls lurched to their feet and, helping each other, got into their new garments.

     After she was dressed, Nadia stretched tentatively and moved her body this way and that. It felt so odd to wear clothes after weeks of continuous nudity. Odd and extremely uncomfortable. The sleeves were too long and the pant legs too short; the rough canvas chaffed Nadia’s nipples and bunched up between her legs, giving her a wedgie. Plus, the thing was butt-ugly; so ugly that Nadia was grateful for the lack of mirrors. All in all, she preferred being naked to wearing this.

     Nadia scanned around to see how the other girls looked. None looked very well. Susana Espinosa fared the best: the outfit emphasized her wide ass and big round breasts and the color suited her complexion. Young Ana Salvador, on the other hand, looked extremely awkward. She was the thinnest of them all; on her, the suit appeared to be nothing more than a shapeless sack. Nevertheless, Ana was pleased: she finally had clothes to cover her bony charms.

     "You look bad," Ignacio told the girls, "I like you better with your asses bare." He smirked. "If you know what I mean."

     They all knew what he meant. Each girl had undergone the harrowing experience of being butt-fucked by the fat guard. Monica Cubero shifted uncomfortably – it was her ass that was going to be demolished today.

     Ignacio rubbed his hands. "This business is taken care of. Now let me show you what we are supposed to be building here." He passed around copies of a drawing. The drawing was a crude diagram that depicted two vertical posts, about five meters high, connected at the top by a thick horizontal crossbeam. Two short diagonal struts in both upper corners made the structure more rigid. To give the thing even more stability, each post had three more such struts fitted at the base, which made the posts appear rather like tall chicken legs.

    That was it: two huge chicken legs supporting a crossbeam. This was the big room’s centerpiece and its main attraction; the chief reason for the whole lengthy, painstaking renovation. Everyone instantly recognized what it was. The thing they were required to build was the new, permanent gallows.

     Up to now all hangings had been performed in the Cafeteria, with a ceiling pipe serving as the makeshift gallows. The pipe had performed admirably – more than two dozen girls have been hung from it so far, with nary a hitch. But the metal thing in the ceiling had its limitations. Ignacio Escobar inspected the fittings and declared that the pipe would hold no more than two bodies at a time. As a consequence, there were no group hangings. Instead, the executions were spread out. Nearly every morning a prisoner would get to swing under the Cafeteria ceiling, and sometimes there was a pair. If more than two were condemned on a single day, the extra girls had to wait until the next day for their turn on the gallows. The executed were left to dangle for at least a day and a night, and sometimes more. As a rule, a body would not be cut down until there was a fresh one to replace it, which meant that nearly every meal was decorated by a couple of hanging corpses.

     The reason for the liberal application of the death penalty was that this was the only penalty available. In the old days, the prisoners would be beaten, or denied food, or kept in solitary confinement. This never happened anymore. These days, for every possible transgression there was only one kind of for punishment: death by hanging.

     Lesbianism was still the biggest possible crime, and the only one where punishment was meted without delay. The definition of Lesbianism was horrifyingly broad. The first girls executed for Lesbianism – those four poor souls hanged in the showers three weeks ago – were at least caught having actual sex. However, very soon it was made clear that any display of affection for another girl – or even anything more than a casual contact – was grounds for hanging.

     One case in particular sent shock waves through the prison population. It happened ten days after the sudden late-night execution of the four supposed Lesbians. At the time, there had been a lull in daily hangings; the Cafeteria’s hanging corner was clear of bodies, and the prisoners relaxed. The girls were exchanging morning gossip at a breakfast, when Fortunata Ramos leaned toward Diana Barroso and whispered something in that girl’s ear. The action looked innocent enough, but Sergeant Velez accused the pair of kissing. The Commandant’s reaction was instant: both girls were dragged away from the dining table and hung on the spot. It all happened incredibly fast; within three minutes of their alleged crime, Diana and Fortunata were already jerking and twisting in the noose. The rest of the breakfast had passed in dead silence.

     After this incident the girls were afraid even to touch each other. Unfortunately, this was impossible to achieve in the crowded conditions of a prison. Every now and then, someone would accidentally touch someone else’s breast, or brush against someone’s ass, or even stare for more than a second at another girl’s crotch – and minutes later end up dangling from a rope.

     Getting tagged as a Lesbian was not the only road to the gallows; a number of girls had been executed for other causes. Asuncion Ibanez sucked the truck driver’s dick in exchange for a few pesos. Only the Lord knows what she intended to do with the money; in any case, she did not get much time to enjoy it. The driver turned around and accused Asuncion of stealing; the money was returned and the girl hanged. At the end of the day, the truck driver got a free blow job, and the girl who swallowed his cum got a short dance with a noose around her neck.

     Lucia Escribano was a victim of another such case. Lucia discovered Bianca Vea’s stash of cocaine and was stupid enough to tell the Commandant. Captain De La Peña, always proper and upright, confiscated the drug, reprimanded Vea in front of everyone, and cut her pay. Five days later, Bianca accused Lucia of assaulting an officer, that is, herself. There were no witnesses, but Bianca got Sergeant Velez to support the accusation; together they prevailed on De La Peña to approve an execution. Bianca, who insisted on being the executioner, made sure the Lucia’s hanging was slow and painful.

     There were many others executed for similar reasons. Just this morning a girl named Marta Torres was hanged for attempted assassination of prison official. What really happened was this. Someone left a nail sticking out of the floor of the big room, and Sergeant Velez stumbled and cut her foot. No one knew who was responsible for this act of negligence, but Tatiana wanted to punish somebody, and Marta Torres was part of yesterday’s work crew. Now Marta’s cold body dangled in the empty Cafeteria.

     All right, enough of this! Nadia made a conscious effort to steer her mind away from the thoughts of hanging dead bodies. Let’s instead concentrate on the plan!

     The drawing indicated several steel hooks bolted at equal distances to the lower surface of the crossbeam. Their purpose was explained in a written note below: the hooks were there to hold the nooses. Nadia counted: there were altogether eight hooks. Eight? She felt chill crawling up her spine.

     Other girls caught on as well; Nadia could see their eyes go wide with fear and puzzlement. Only Susana, who was generally rather dumb, still stared at the picture in bovine incomprehension.

     "This is very… interesting," said Monica Cubero carefully.

     "It’s a time-honored design," replied Ignacio Escobar, "Simple but serviceable. Later on we’ll add collapsible platforms to stand on, a few steps leading up to the platforms, wooden buckets to collect the piss, some winches…"

     "But why eight nooses?" burst out Ana Salvador, "They never even convicted so many at once! Let alone…let alone…"

     The guard shrugged. "How would I know? They may plan to hang eight of you at a time. Or it could something else altogether. They didn’t explain me their reasons."

     The door opened; but only Nadia noticed it. Sergeant Velez walked into the room, with Bianca Vea and a couple of guards right behind. The newcomers marched straight for the Ignacio Escobar’s little group; and it was Nadia alone who saw them come.

     "Back to work," Ignacio said, unaware of an approaching interruption. "Today I’ll show you a how to use a saw. We’ll be using them a lot in the next few days." He took one from his bag. "Be careful – these things are sharp. Especially you, Espinosa."

     Bianca and others stopped some distance away, but Tatiana came forward, still unnoticed by anyone save Nadia. She loomed over Susana Espinosa, grinning from ear to ear. Susana did not realize anyone was standing behind her; she was absorbed by the saw, watching it warily as though it could jump and bite her. Nadia gestured at Susana to warn her about the danger; but the stupid cow only nodded and smiled. Nadia signaled more vigorously, and in response Susana decided to come closer. From a prone position she started to climb clumsily to her hands and knees. First she stuck her ass high in the air. Her pink round buttocks parted, and Nadia could see that Tatiana’s gaze was directed right in the middle, at Susanna’s exposed holes. This was not good. Nadia tried to warn the stupid girl one last time, but before she could do anything, Tatiana bent forward and grasped a cheekful of Susana’s ass.

     The next few seconds were a blur. Startled Susana jumped out of her skin. She flew straight into Tatiana, who had not expected such reaction; and the two big bodies collided with a loud slap. The brawny Sergeant was usually hard to budge but Susana’s sudden leap knocked her over like a sack of flour. To keep her balance, Tatiana held on to other girl’s shoulder; in return, the panicked Susana grabbed Tatiana’s shirt. There was a sound of ripping cloth, and both women tumbled backward in a confusion of bodies.

     A minute later, Susana was sitting on her butt, dazed with shock. Tatiana ended up sprawled on her back. Without getting up, she anxiously pawed a ripped front pocket of her uniform shirt. Her eyes widened; she sat up sharply and scanned the floor around her, searching for something. Nadia noticed a small transparent plastic bag lying some distance away. It was hard to see for certain, but it seemed like the bag contained some sort of white powder. Tatiana made a quick move to snatch the bag; but before she could reach it, someone’s foot pinned her hand to the ground.

     "Well, well," said Captain De La Peña. No one saw him enter, not even Nadia – but there he was, tall and stern-looking. "What do we have here?" He picked up the bag, opened it, and cautiously tasted the powder. "Cocaine," he said and looked straight at the Sergeant.

     Tatiana blanched. "It’s not mine," she stammered, "It’s hers!" She pointed at Susana.

     De La Peña fixed the woman with an icy stare. "The prisoner is naked," he said coolly, "She has no place to hide anything. There is no point in trying to bullshit me. You disobeyed my orders yet again; and this time, I will not let it slide." He raised Tatiana by the scruff of her neck so that her face was almost level with his. "You remember the penalty I promised you in case of disobedience. This penalty starts now and is extended for four weeks—"

     "No!"

     "—One week for the actual transgression and three for lying to me."

     Tatiana looked horrified.

     "Now get out of my sight," the Captain finished frostily.

     Tatiana did not try to argue. She turned dejectedly and shuffled toward the exit, muttering to herself. Before opening the door she turned back for a second and gave Susana one last look full of unspeakable loathing. Then she was gone.

     "What was that about all about?" whispered someone. De La Peña ignored that.

     He looked at his watch. "Now to business. In the absence of Sergeant Velez, the present task falls to Warden Vea. Do you know what you have to do, Warden?"

     "Yes Sir!" barked Bianca.

     "Then proceed."

     Bianca stepped forward. She came to a parade rest, saluted to the Commandant, and announced in a high, crisp voice, "These following prisoners are hereby ordered to come with me." She made a pause. "Ana Salvador—"

     Ana jumped to her feet, her eyes wide with surprise and fear. A guard caught her by the wrist and in a quick practiced motion handcuffed her.

     "—and Nadia Serna."

     Nadia felt as a tightrope walker must feel when the rope snaps under her. All she could do was to open and close her mouth, as her mind went blank and her stomach turned to jelly. The second guard jerked her roughly to her feet and put the cuffs on her. He had to hold her because Nadia’s legs were so numb that she could barely stand. Across from her, Katia looked extremely worried. Nadia tried to reassure her with a smile but the attempt failed badly.

     "Let’s go!" said Bianca. "We don’t have all day."

  

 Nadia and Ana were led out of the door and into the echoing dimness of the prison corridors. Bianca Vea walked in front and the two guards followed behind, prodding the prisoners in the back to hurry them up or to indicate a turn. No one spoke. In search of some clues, Nadia tried to catch the guards’ eyes but her silent queries had gotten no response. The men stared straight ahead, studiously avoiding looking at the prisoners. Nadia did not like it one bit. The situation had all the hallmarks of a hasty execution.

     But they can’t execute us both, she thought. There are only two spots on the pipe and one is already occupied! They hanged Marta Torres only this morning; and it followed that they had no more space for a double hanging. Surely they didn’t! Didn’t they?

     Nadia knew that she was being silly. There was nothing to prevent them from cutting Marta down and making the space. Or they could hang Ana, let her dangle until she was undoubtedly dead, then take her down, and hang Nadia in her place. Or they could hang Nadia first. Or they could hang them in the showers or in the hundred different places where you could tie a rope. The possibilities were endless.

     Nadia was enumerating the possibilities in her mind, when the group reached the stairway landing. However, Bianca Vea did not lead them up the stairs but continued forward. Hope flared in Nadia’s breast: they weren’t going to the Canteen! No hanging on a ceiling pipe for them, at least that was certain now. Of course, farther ahead on this level were the showers, which, as Nadia remembered all too well, could also serve as a makeshift execution chamber.

     Apparently they weren’t going there, either. Bianca stopped far short of the shower room, and Nadia breathed a second sigh of relief.

     They stood in front of a narrow door painted the same drab gray as the walls. Bianca pulled out a key and unlocked the door. A guard opened for her. From behind Bianca’s scrawny back, Nadia cautiously peered inside.

     The space – it was too small to call it a room – was once a janitor’s closet. It was tiny, ill-lit, and as narrow as the door suggested. The ceiling was low; the walls unpainted. Along one wall ranged a row of ancient brooms, mops, and buckets; against the opposite wall stood a rough wooden bench. Two naked figures slouched on the bench, looking half-asleep in the feeble light. It was hard to see their faces but these were unmistakably Evita Sanchez and Esmeralda Carrera, the pair of girls missing since morning.

     Obeying a command from Bianca Vea, Evita and Esmeralda got to their feet. Nadia threw a questioning glance at Esmeralda, whose silent reply indicated that she knew next to nothing about what was going on. Ana and Nadia were pushed into the cell where they were uncuffed. Their handcuffs were transferred to Esmeralda and Evita, who were then marched out of the room and down the corridor, with Bianca Vea in front of them and one guard behind. The remaining guard closed the door, locking Ana and Nadia inside. Nadia heard the clink of the key turning in the lock and after that, the retreating steps, as the man hurried after his companions.

     There was nothing to do but to wait. Nadia sat down on the hard bench and invited Ana to sit as well. Ana followed Nadia’s example, all the while keeping a careful distance. As hard as it was in this confined space, they meticulously avoided touching each other – it was unlikely they were observed, but one could never be sure. "Better safe than hanging," repeated Nadia to herself. That’s what Martha Torres said after refusing a cautious advance from Estela Garrido. Martha was very careful this way. But of course, despite all her prudence, she ended up hanging anyway.

     Ana shifted on her seat uncomfortably. Between the lack of space, the hard wood they had to sit on, and their self-imposed restrictions, their stay here did not promise to be all that pleasant. There was no room to lie down or even to stretch one’s legs. There was no support for the back, except the cement wall. The bench’s unfinished boards were so rough that sitting on them with your bums bare practically guaranteed a splinter. Fortunately, Nadia’s and Ana’s bums were protected – for one reason or another, no one bothered to order the girls to remove their new work clothes.

     "Are we going to be hanged?" asked Ana Salvador in a tiny voice.

     The correct answer to this was, "Who the hell knows?" But Ana looked so scared and so young that Nadia bit back the response that was forming on her lips. What Ana needed was not truth but reassurance. "We won’t," said Nadia firmly. "Definitely not."

     She reflected on her answer. It was not a lie; she really didn’t think they were going to be hanged. They were not accused of anything, were they? Nadia was sure Commandant De La Peña would not hang them without first telling them why.

     The Commandant was a tough man but not bloodthirsty. He did everything by the book, tried to investigate every allegation, and sometimes even let an offense go without punishment. True, the alleged Lesbians were executed instantly and without mercy, often based on the flimsiest evidence. Nonetheless, aside from this mysterious obsession with sex between women, the current Commandant was a fair man. And neither Nadia, nor Ana have done anything wrong.

     Could one of the Wardens be behind it? The Commandant might have been fair; but his underlings were a different matter. They regularly tricked their boss into executing innocent girls: the fates of Lucia Escribano, Marta Torres, and several others were a testament to that. But it didn’t look like De La Peña’s subordinates were responsible for this particular business, and this gave Nadia hope.

     The room had no windows; the only light came from a single dim bulb. Whether it was day or night, the cell remained equally gloomy; there was nothing here to mark the passage of time. As the minutes grew into long hours, the women talked. Nadia never liked Ana Salvador much; she always considered her a stiff, sanctimonious prig. Now that she had a chance to know Ana better, she saw that she was wrong. Behind a façade of self-righteous prudishness was a bewildered young girl who knew very little about life, and nothing about relationships between sexes. Ana was educated by nuns, and it showed. She lived in her own little world with its own rules. Nakedness had to be avoided at all costs. Regular ass-rapes by drunken guards were somehow her fault, and the resulting pain and humiliation were considered suitable punishments. In general, sex was sin, and sex between women even worse. Everyone thought that Ana refused all such invitations because she regarded herself better that everybody else; but in truth she was scared and embarrassed. However, the girl could not help being curious about this stuff. After they established a certain level of intimacy, Ana peppered Nadia with questions concerning her various experiences. Nadia itched to take off the younger girl’s ugly garments and show her a thing or two. Of course, this was quite impossible.

     A key turning in the lock interrupted their conversation. It was Ignacio Escobar, this time acting in his official capacity as guard. He brought them their dinner. Nadia and Ana spoke up at once, but Ignacio silently handed them the trays and promptly withdrew, refusing to answer any questions. The food lifted the spirits for a time. In the next half hour, Nadia and Ana exchanged funny stories, laughing all the while. That didn’t last though; soon enough the laughter got progressively more nervous and artificial until it finally ceased. "What’s next?" asked Ana for the hundredth time. Nadia did not answer.

     Several hours later – no one knew how many – the girls got tired at last and decided to go to sleep. That was easier said than done: for two people to lie down in this space without touching each other was no simple task. The girls were right in the middle of finding a solution, when they heard the sound of multiple boots outside their door. Their sleepiness instantly evaporated.

     The door opened, letting in Ines Santana and a new pair of guards. They clearly came to take the prisoners away. Nadia wanted to ask them so many questions, but the one that came to her lips was unexpectedly, "What time is it?" Santana ignored her but one of the guards answered, "Half past one in the night." The Warden gave him a silencing look and gestured for Nadia and Ana to get up and put their hands behind their back for hadcuffing.

     This time trip the prisoners were prodded up the stairs all the way to the top floor. Nadia’s felt cold sweat running down her neck: top floor was where they hanged people. However, once again the Cafeteria – and its hanging pipe – was not their destination. Instead, they made a turn into an unfamiliar passageway and hurried along a maze of strange corridors.

     Yet, despite never having been here before, Nadia knew where they were. This was the administrative wing: the location of offices, guardrooms, the prison kitchen, and so on. The corridors were dark and eerily quiet – most of the personnel had left for the night. The guard’s footsteps echoed off the walls. The group passed a door after a closed door; and every time they went near one Nadia wondered if that was where they were going.

     At last they stopped next to a completely unremarkable entrance. The only thing that made it different from the others like it was the fact that it was set apart. Large stretches of blank wall framed it on either side; and because of that, this doorway looked lonely. Santana pressed a small button. With a soft buzzing sound, the door opened seemingly by itself.

     After the procession had trooped inside, Nadia had a look around. She had never seen the place, but there was no mistaking it. This was once the school Principal’s office; now it belonged to the prison Commandant. To say that the room was spacious would have been an understatement – it was nearly the prison dorm’s size. The office was extremely well appointed: among other luxuries it had high, carved ceiling, oak paneling on the walls, lavish carpet, and large picture windows. The windows must have provided a lot of light during the day, but now they were only black rectangular holes in the wall; the light was coming from the sparkling crystal chandeliers overhead. Under one window stood wide leather couch and two overstuffed chairs; next to them was an elegant parlor table that held the prison’s only radio. Along the opposite, windowless, wall stood more chairs, several filing cabinets, and an enormous old-fashioned wardrobe. Later Nadia remembered hearing soft scratches coming from the wardrobe, but it had to be only her imagination.

     The Commandant’s desk was placed as far away from the entrance as possible. One had to walk a distance to get there. The desk was dark polished wood masterfully shaped in a classic design. It was vast in size but somehow looked very appropriate for this room. Of course, much of that impression was due to the occupant. The tall figure of Captain De La Peña towered over the desk; his dominating presence filled the big room. The Commandant appeared to be busy with paperwork, paying no apparent attention to the visitors.

     After making them wait an interminable time, the Captain lifted his eyes. He dismissed the guards, told Vea to uncuff the prisoners; then, after she did, curtly ordered her to leave. After the Warden was gone, De La Peña commanded Nadia and Ana to come closer.

     He was studying them, his eyes boring into theirs. Even though they were standing and he was sitting, he somehow managed to look down at them, as if from a height.

     "Why are you still wearing your work clothes?" he asked.

     Ana opened her mouth to explain. More experienced Nadia did not waste time on words but instantly moved to take her clothes off. The Captain waved them off.

 

   "Never mind that now. Let me explain the reason I brought you here."

     He paused, checking papers on his desk. There was a large portrait on the wall behind him; it depicted a stern gray-haired man in a General’s uniform. Nadia had never seen this man before but surmised that it must have been General Vilareal. The new dictator looked younger then Nadia expected and had rather distinguished, even handsome features. All in all, he didn’t appear as unpleasant as Nadia expected such a man to look.

     The Captain finally looked up from the paperwork. "Prisoner Serna, prisoner Salvador," he said in his official voice, "Allegations had been made against you. Specifically," he tapped his finger meaningfully, "the allegations of homosexual contacts."

     The women gasped in unison. Ana seemed close to fainting. The allegations were untrue, of course – Nadia hadn’t had homosexual contacts in weeks and Ana had never had them in her life – but such trifles didn’t matter. When the Commandant directly accused you of homosexuality, you were hanged as soon as they got you to a free noose.

     They were going to be hanged, after all.

     "However—" intoned the Captain.

     The women stopped in their tracks. Was there a glimmer of hope?

     De La Peña remained silent for a time, and Nadia was afraid to breathe. "However," he repeated in the same clipped tone, "If I were to punish prisoners based on mere allegations I’d have to execute nearly the whole prison population. I decided that from now on I must investigate."

     He got up from the chair and walked around the desk.

     "Investigating such claims is a difficult business," he said, looking at the two women as if trying to measure their thoughts. "You two don’t look like Lesbians to me; but you never know. Some of the deviants that we have eliminated in the past three weeks did not look like Lesbians either. Fortunately, Sergeant Velez had an idea…" He paused, then suddenly roared in his best command bellow, "Prisoner Salvador!"

     Ana jumped in surprise.

     "Prisoner Salvador, you will proceed to the couch. You will take off your suit. You will lie on you back and spread your legs."

     Ana must have wondered at this unusual order but she did as she was told, with only a slight hesitation. She blushed after she undressed and blushed some more when she opened her pussy for review.

     "Now you, prisoner Serna. No, don’t bother taking off your clothes; you’ll have an opportunity to do it later. Go to your knees. Good. Place your face between Salvador’s legs. Now use you hands and mouth to stimulate Salvador’s genitalia."

     Nadia hesitated. As if reading her thoughts, the Captain added, "You will not be punished for this."

     Up close, Ana’s pussy was small and nearly hairless. Delicate pink folds framed the miniature opening, still barred by an unbroken hymen. The clit was all but invisible. With a tip of a finger Nadia softly prodded the hidden clit; and in response Ana gasped and recoiled.

     "Sergeant Velez’s suggestion is simple," the Captain said, "We call two accused prisoners at a time and have them perform oral sex on each other. Anyone who shows signs of enjoyment must have Lesbian propensities. It’s not an ideal solution; we expect a number of false positives, which mean we are going to hang a number of innocent heterosexuals. But it’s a price we are willing to take. Weeding out Lesbians from the ranks of inmates is our highest priority."

     So that’s what they were expected to do! Nadia grinned inwardly. Obviously they didn’t think this through. Velez’s plan was clever but it had a flaw, and Nadia fully intended to exploit this flaw. With this thought, she began to lick.

     Nadia was determined to do anything she could so that neither she, nor Ana, would become what De La Peña called "false positives". She pretended great activity – bobbing her head, slurping, spitting, and in general making a big wet mess. But she was careful to avoid any spots that had the least chance to excite, concentrating instead on large stretches that could provide no meaningful stimulation. It helped that Ana was tense, and Nadia did all she could to keep the girl on edge. The key was never to let her relax and enjoy this. As long as Ana hated the experience she’d be fine.

     And when the roles are switched; when it becomes Ana’s turn to give head? Nadia did not worry about that. Ana had no experience in giving oral satisfaction to a woman; she wouldn’t know what to do with a clit even if you shoved it into her mouth. No way could someone like that bring Nadia to orgasm. But if, by some miracle, Ana stumbled on a proper method to eat pussy, it wouldn’t be a problem either. Nadia was very good at controlling emotions; even if she liked Ana’s tongue she would show no outward signs of pleasure.

     The first half of the test went just as Nadia expected. Ana obediently kept her legs open; but she was as cold as fish. Her breathing was even; her eyes open. With each minute she grew increasingly bored and disgusted – and less scared. Nadia pretended to work ever harder, lest her deception be discovered. She knew she looked very stupid; but it’s better to look stupid then to dangle in the noose.

     After half an hour of this bumbling about, Nadia felt the Commandant’s hand on her shoulder. "That’s enough," he said, "You may get up."

     The moment Nadia staggered to her feet, Ana hurried and closed her legs, then for good measure put her hand over her crotch.

     "Good try, Serna," the Captain told Nadia, "But you weren’t doing it right. You obviously have no experience with cunnilingus. I admit, this reflects well on you; I am almost convinced that you’ve never had intimate contacts with other women. Nevertheless, I still need to give you both a proper test. Hmm…"

     De La Peña returned to his desk, picked up a phone, and dialed a short extension. Nadia and Ana listened to his one-sided conversation.

     "I need you to come here…Yes, same as before…No, it’s not an order. You know I cannot order you to do this… Yes, a favor…Very good…Yes, my office… How much time do you need to dress?...That long?...All right, see you then." He replaced the receiver, then picked up a paper from the desk and started to read.

     For the next twenty-five minutes Ana and Nadia sat on a couch, waiting for they did not know what. De La Peña paid them no attention; he worked as though he was alone in the office. Ana fidgeted kept throwing longing glances at her discarded clothes; but she knew better than to try and retrieve them.

     At last, the phone on De La Peña’s desk emitted a buzz. The man put his papers aside and pressed a button. The door opened.

     Nadia felt her jaw drop. Next to her Ana gasped in disbelief. The newcomer was Sergeant Tatiana Velez – but as they’d never seen her before.

     The good Sergeant wore her customary black army boots; however, these were the only piece of regulation uniform she put on tonight. Above the ankles, she was dressed very differently. She wore neither pants, nor skirt; instead, her legs were covered by black fishnet stockings, which reached just below the knees. Her openly displayed panties were made of shiny black silk; they fit snugly around her hips and were tight enough down below to outline a definite cameltoe. Just above the panties was a black garter belt, which supported the stockings as well as emphasized the curviness of this part of the body. Her arms, shoulders, and most of the back were bare, the open skin gleaming in the light of the chandeliers. By contrast, her midsection was enclosed in a black, light-absorbing leather bustier. This piece was certainly designed to attract attention; it was laced tightly at the waist but flared widely upward, inviting the eyes to follow. This was its main function: to draw the eyes up, to attract attention to what rested above the low-cut lines of leather, for this was an open bustier, the kind of that supported, gave shape – but concealed nothing. The woman’s breasts were exposed in all their glory.

      Tatiana did not look like herself, and not just because Nadia wasn’t used to seeing her half-naked. The Sergeant’s face was painted; lips glossed; eyes highlighted. Cheeks, neck, and even nipples were powdered and rouged. She put on jewelry: rings, earrings, and a chain with a pendant – a large gold crucifix, which now rested between her boobs. To top everything off, Tatiana wore a wig; a voluminous, platinum-blond bob that covered her ears and made her head look like a large, soft silver ball.

     Nadia and Ana gaped at their Warden as if they were thunderstruck. Tatiana Velez looked both extremely sexy and at the same time, just as preposterous. It was as though she was a completely different person from her normal, day-to-day self.

  The eyes, however, were the same.

     "What are you staring at?" Tatiana snapped at the girls. There was a growling warning in her voice, but Nadia couldn’t make herself look away. The truth was, Tatiana looked good in this outfit. Her figure was a bit too muscular but undeniably female. This was very obvious, now that she no longer wore her usual shapeless clothes. Black silk and leather flattered her wide hips, and narrow waist, and powerful legs. The bustier’s supporting cups raised her naturally meaty mammaries, laying them out as though on a shelf and making them appear positively impressive. Even the ridiculous wig was not as silly as it seemed at first: it complemented Tatiana’s appearance, making her look like femme fatale from the old-time cinema.

     "Ah, Sergeant," said De La Peña. "Thank you for coming." He did not appear the least bit surprised; only slightly exasperated. Apparently he had seen this side of Tatiana before and did not like it much.

     Tatiana regarded the Captain. Something unspoken passed between them. Aloud she said, "No need to thank me. I don’t mind this kind of work." She gave Nadia and Ana businesslike looks, as if appraising cattle. "So. Which of them comes first? The one who is wearing a sack or the bare-assed one?"

     The Captain lifted an eyebrow but all he said was, "Salvador is first."

     "This one? Meh." Velez shook her head in disgust. "No tits; no ass. Just bones."

     "I remind you that it was your idea, Sergeant."

     "All right, all right. I am getting on with it. Hey, girly!" This was directed at Ana. "Don’t just sit around. Lie down on your stomach."

 

    Ana instantly obeyed. Once down, she twisted her head around to see what Tatiana would do next.

     The big woman jumped onto the couch and lowered herself next to Ana. Tatiana run her fingers up and down the younger girl’s back, her fingers surprisingly soft and gentle. She spent a minute massaging the shoulders, then transferred her attention to the feet. Tatiana did that several times – kneading Ana’s leg muscles, then switching to back rubs. Tense at first, Ana got more and more relaxed.

     "On your back now!" Without waiting for reaction, Tatiana rolled Ana’s body. Ana lay utterly tranquil. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed in and out slowly; her eyes were closed. She didn’t even try to hide her nakedness, that’s how relaxed he’d become. Tatiana spread Ana’s legs; the girl did not seem to notice. Nadia was starting to worry about her.

     Tatiana spent a minute just looking at Ana’s body. "A real virgin," she said softly as she was reviewing the girl’s private parts. "Virgins taste nice." She kissed Ana’s bellybutton; then, keeping her head low, started to work her way down.

     When Tatiana’s mouth reached Ana’s pussy, Nadia realized that she was looking at a real pro. Tatiana’s technique – the way she used her tongue, lips, and sometimes even teeth – was flawless. Any woman would be putty in her hands, let alone someone as young and inexperienced as Ana Salvador. Ana tried to resist, to hide what she was feeling; but she was losing that battle. There was no doubt: Tatiana had the girl wrapped around her finger. Soon Ana’s cheeks grew rosy; nipples hardened. Every once in a while, soft sighs escaped from her lips. Missing no cues, Tatiana labored between Ana’s legs with increased intensity and precision. The woman’s silver wig hovered like a white hurricane over her helpless subject; her tongue darted out like a pink lightning, striking the right target every time, making Ana shudder as if from electric shock.

     All this time Commandant De La Peña stood next to the couch, watching Ana being devoured. His eyes were narrow. He waited.

     All of a sudden, Ana emitted a loud cry and arched her back. Her body spasmed rhythmically, as she shook in the paroxysm of pleasure. With each spasm, a jet of clear, sharp-smelling liquid spurted out of her vagina. Tatiana lifted her face, very wet now, and gave her boss a predatory grin.

    "Yes," said De La Peña, "Undoubtedly homosexual; and quite an extreme specimen, too. I wonder how she evaded detection before now. We must dispatch her at once."

 

  Nadia pressed the palm of her hand against her mouth. What happened here was too horrible to contemplate. Ana had failed the test – Tatiana made her fail the test – and now the poor girl was going to the gallows. Ana herself had not realized it yet: she shook even now, still in the throes of the first and the last orgasm in her life.

     "Do we drop her in your office?" asked Tatiana.

     "Lesbians as intense as this one must be exterminated on the spot," replied De La Peña. "So, yes, here."

     Nadia looked around the room. She could see nothing that could serve as gallows. There wasn’t even a place to tie a rope – aside from the chandeliers, which were too high and anyway seemed too flimsy for the purpose.

     "Can we hang her without a hood?" asked Tatiana. She sounded like a little girl who begs her daddy to buy her a toy. "Can we do it please, just this once? You know how I love to see their faces."

     De La Peña shook his head. "This is judicial execution, not a show. We do not hang people for entertainment. The regulations require us to use a hood and so we shall."

     Tatiana made a disappointed face.

     By this time Ana’s orgasm was over. As she sobered, the girl began to weep with the awful realization. Nadia could not even imagine what it was like for Ana; what this sharp transition from the very height of pleasure to the bottom of despair could do to a person. Nadia felt a momentary urge to comfort her but thought better of it; she could not risk being nice to a confirmed Lesbian. Anyway, Ana was as good as dead; nothing could be done for her now.

     "Medium height, light weight, thin neck," murmured Tatiana as she studied the sobbing girl. "A couple of feet or less should be enough." She got off the couch and walked across the room to the wardrobe. She stopped suddenly. "Forgot the key! Fuck!" She pulled the handle and when it did not give way, slapped the dark polished surface of the door. "Fuck!"

     Even Tatiana’s tall form looked petite next to the wardrobe. The thing was big – truly massive. Almost as wide as De La Peña’s desk and so tall that no man could touch the top even if he jumped, the wardrobe was made of dark reddish wood and had two large doors decorated with inlays. Its legs were carved in the shapes of animal paws. This was an expensive piece of furniture, a rare antique that looked like it belonged in a woman’s boudoir and not in the prison office. Nadia had never seen it before but she knew of it – everyone did. The thing was installed some time ago by the second Commandant before last, who was a woman. She was in her late twenties, loved to dress, and needed a place to store her clothes. So, she got herself the biggest wardrobe she could find. No one knew where she had gotten it from; but it was safe to say she did not buy it. She filled it to the brim with clothes that were confiscated from the prisoners; but she did not get a chance to enjoy her acquisitions for long – only two months after she got the wardrobe, she was deposed and executed by the De La Peña’s predecessor. The wardrobe remained, empty, unused – until now.

     "I’ve got the second key," the Captain told Tatiana. He threw the key to her; she caught it as dogs catch doggy treat. She unlocked and opened one of the wardrobe’s doors, revealing dark, empty interior. Thick clothes rod attached rather high to the side walls glinted metallically in the gloom. There were no clothes and no hangers, only a coil of thin rope wrapped around the rod.

     Pulling on the one end of the coil, Tatiana unrolled a short length of rope – just a foot or two, not nearly enough for a proper noose. She cut it off with a knife she picked up from the bottom of the wardrobe; then she turned and with an evil grin that sent shivers down Nadia’s spine showed the rope to Ana.

     Satisfied that her demonstration had the desired effect, Tatiana turned back to business. She pulled out the key once again, unlocking the second door. With a great ceremony, she opened it.

     Nadia stiffened when she finally saw what was hidden behind the other door. Ana whimpered in dismay.

     This half of the wardrobe was not empty at all. It was occupied by two naked female bodies, which hung side by side from the clothes rod. Their heads were covered with black plastic bags, but Nadia had no trouble recognizing who they were.

     So now she knew what happened to Evita Sanchez and Esmeralda Carrera.

     Evita was the taller of the two and her toes nearly scraped the bottom of the drawer, while the short Esmeralda dangled a full ten inches above. Evita’s arms and legs were tied, whereas Esmeralda was completely free of any restraints. There must have been a reason behind this difference in treatment, but Nadia did not want to know it. The hanging girls faced the opposite directions – Evita the front and Esmeralda the back. Because Esmeralda was turned away, her neck was clearly visible; and so Nadia could see how the girls were hanged. The nooses were simple loops of rope that went around the clothes rod and the girls’ throats. These loops evidently did not have a self-tightening knot and were in fact quite loose: Nadia could plainly see an inch of daylight between the rod and the back of Esmeralda’s neck. Of course, the looseness of the nooses did nothing to diminish their deadly effect; the girls might have suffered longer but in the end they suffocated just the same.

     Being hanged from a horizontal rod was different than hanging in a regular noose. The girls’ heads were not slumped onto their breasts or twisted to the side, as would have been the case had they undergone a conventional hanging. Instead, wedged between the rope and the rod, the heads were held nearly upright. The girls appeared to stand at attention, except that their feet did not reach the ground. In case of Evita, whose noose was hidden and whose feet were just a tiny distance above the wardrobe floor, the illusion of standing straight was practically complete. Or rather, the illusion would’ve been complete if one did not look at the hanged girl’s face.

     Naturally, Evita’s face was hidden by the hood; however, the plastic was stretched tightly, making it easy to recognize the facial features behind it. There were two dips for the eyes, two bumps for cheekbones, and a larger bump that indicated the nose. That was normal; but below the nose, where the mouth should’ve been, was an enormous bulge, as big as a moderately-sized potato and just as shapeless. It took Nadia a moment to realize what that bulge was – this, of course, was the strangled girl’s swollen, protruding tongue.

 

   Nadia heard a sound of laughter coming from somewhere close to her. It was Tatiana who laughed. She stood next to Ana, massaging the girl’s neck; her powerful fingers squeezing gently and then letting go. The big woman leaned over, put her mouth against Ana’s ear, and spoke in a loud stage whisper. "Say hello to your friends. Don’t they look gorgeous? What a surprise, they both turned out to be Lesbians! That’s right; you are not the first to fail the test today." Tatiana caught Nadia’s eyes and grinned toothily. Talking to Ana but looking at Nadia, she added, "And you won’t be the last!" Smiling, she made a sweeping gesture toward the empty half of the wardrobe. The message was clear: there is plenty of room inside for two more hanging bodies.

     Tatiana stroked Ana’s cheek, then let go of her, and sauntered to the wardrobe. She stopped in front of the open doors and considered the hanged corpses.

     "I enjoyed dropping these bitches." she said as though to herself, "And I am sure they’d enjoyed it too. I gave them glorious orgasms – the best of their lives. They came so hard as they dangled! Had they been able to open their mouth, they would’ve begged for more. Ah, the memory of the lifetimes!" Tatiana chuckled. "Especially their lifetimes."

     Almost affectionately, Tatiana touched Esmeralda Carrera’s hip, making the body sway gently. "This bitch enjoyed my tongue so much, she kept squirting from the cunt even after she was hung!" Tatiana steadied the body, then inserted a hand between the dead girl’s thighs. "It’s still wet. Scrumptious!" She removed the hand and licked the fingers.

     "Velez," said the Captain in a warning tone, "You are getting carried away."

     "Ah come on, Boss! Allow me my fun."

     "Fifteen minutes," he replied sternly, "And you better get started now."

     "Yes, sir!" In three quick strides Tatiana was next to the couch. She produced a black bag and put it over Ana’s head. Ignoring the girl’s whines and whimpers, Tatiana lifted Ana by an elbow and pulled her toward the wardrobe. Blinded by the hood, Ana stumbled after Tatiana. The girl was pushed inside the wardrobe and made to stand on a low stool next to one of the hanging corpses. Tatiana picked up the measured piece of rope and loosely tied Ana’s thin neck to the clothes rod.

     "You are ready to drop, dear," Tatiana informed the trembling girl. "But not just yet. I am not done with you."

     Tatiana placed her lips around Ana’s tiny breast and started to suck on a nipple. She had to stoop a little – even with Ana standing on a stool, the Sergeant was a good deal taller. Tatiana’s touch produced no reaction, as Ana was too scared to feel anything. Unperturbed, Tatiana sat down on her haunches and began to lick the visible parts of Ana’s crack. Again, the girl did not seem to notice. After a minute of this, Tatiana reached down and gave the stool a slight tug. Feeling her support move under her, Ana made a small scared sound and wet herself. Immediately, Tatiana pushed her tongue into Ana’s pussy.

    

     This prank was repeated several times. Every so often Tatiana would make Ana yelp with fright by suddenly moving the stool a quarter of an inch one way or the other. As the terrified girl danced, working to keep her balance, Tatiana’s tongue would hungrily probe the insides of her vagina. "Ah, the taste of fear," Tatiana said once, as she licked her lips after an especially deep penetration. "The best taste there is!"

     After a while, De La Peña drummed his fingers on the table. "Sergeant, we haven’t got all night. If prisoner Salvador is not hanged within one minute, I will become very unhappy."

     "All right, all right, I am on it. I will have my fun in other ways." Tatiana stopped, then turned to the Captain as if just struck by a thought. "Say, Boss! After I drop this piece of trash, can we—"

     "No we cannot!" De La Peña interrupted sharply. "You are punished."

     Tatiana’s face fell. "Please Boss! I’ll be super-good! I’ll do anything you want!" she said in a whiny voice. She gestured toward her outfit. "I prepared so carefully."

      "No!" said De La Peña’s firmly. "Now be so kind and execute the prisoner."

      Tatiana turned back to Ana, scowling at her, as though the Captain’s mysterious refusal was the girl’s fault. "Time to dance, honey," she growled.

     Tatiana quickly tied Ana’s hands behind her back. Next, she bound the girl’s legs at the ankles and at the knees. She checked the knots, then matter-of-factly pulled away the stool.

     Ana dropped.

     She made a short gurgling sound as the rope caught her below the chin. The flexible metal rode, now forced to support the weight of a third body, bent noticeably downward and then recoiled. Ana’s body bounced up and down as if attached to a spring. The two dead girls bounced and swayed merrily in counterpoint with Ana, making dull thuds as they collided with the wardrobe’s walls. Because Ana’s noose wasn’t made to tighten, her windpipe remained partially open at first. So far, Ana was choking not strangling; one could still hear the hissing sounds of her ragged, irregular breath. She was still fully conscious, and, impelled by a terrible pain, she strained against her bonds. Every once in a while, when the rod bent especially far down, Ana’s toes would touch the bottom of the wardrobe; but after an instant of standing on a firm ground, the rod’s elastic force would pick her up and violently lift her by the neck high into the air. After one such hard bounce, a sudden bulge appeared on Ana’s covered face. Her tongue was finally forced from her mouth. The sounds of breathing ceased, and Ana started to thrash randomly, sweat running down her chest. Finally she shuddered and went limp.

  The three dead bodies continued to sway together for another minute until they gradually came to the rest.

     The creaks of the abused clothes rod and the thumps of flesh hitting the thick wooden planks had finally subsided. Silence fell, but for a while Nadia could hear only the thumping of her own heart. After that had subsided too, she heard unexpected sounds, which were there all along, but which could not be heard above all the din caused by a violent hanging. They were soft moans mixed with an occasional giggle, and they were coming from somewhere below. Nadia tore her eyes off Ana’s fresh corpse and looked down.

 

   Tatiana Velez sat on the floor before the couch, legs spread apart, eyes glued to the scene of hanging. She lifted one of her breasts to her mouth and sucked on a nipple. The hand that did not hold a breast was between her legs, deep inside the panties, moving rapidly up and down. As Nadia watched, Tatiana gave herself one last vigorous rub and moaned orgasmically, then relaxed. Nadia glanced toward the Captain; but De La Peña appeared to be so absorbed by his papers that he had not noticed any of this.

      Sergeant Velez staggered to her feet. Her panties were much wrinkled now, and front was dark with fragrant wetness that was still trickling down her legs. Walking a bit unsteadily, the woman approached the Commandant’s desk. She waited for a few seconds but De La Peña ignored her. Then, in one swift move, Tatiana jumped on top of the desk and dove toward the Captain. Standing on all fours before him, she pushed her breasts into his face. "I need a big hard cock inside me," she said in a husky voice, as her pussy juice dripped onto his precious papers. "Right now."

     "No," said the Captain from behind the fleshy fence. He sized Tatiana with a cold stare, making her shrink back a distance. "You are punished. Didn’t I tell you that? I will not touch you for another four weeks. You may dress as sexy as you like or jiggle your mammaries as much as you want to. It won’t change my decision."

     "Please Ma– I mean, Sir!"

Tatiana implored. "Just one fuck!"

     "I said no."

     "Please!" She sounded as though she was near tears. "You know how much I need it! Dropping a bitch makes me so hot. Please fuck me now! Do what you want with me; fuck me any way you like. Just name it. I’ll do anything!"

     De La Peña’s lips curled in an amused contempt. "That’s exactly the problem with you, Velez. You will do anything." Tatiana looked away.

      No one spoke for a minute. At last, De La Peña put down his papers and stood up. "Enough with this nonsense, Sergeant. You have a job to do."

     "Right," Tatiana said morosely, "Another bitch I’ve got to drop." She slithered off the desk and turned to Nadia. "Hey you, on the couch: get your ass up! Go to the wardrobe, step on the stool inside the empty space. Put on a hood and wait for me. I’ll be with you shortly."

     "Aren’t you forgetting something?" the Captain said sarcastically. "Remember: a test comes before an execution."

      "Wouldn’t it be easier just to hang her and be done with it? It’s late and I want to fuck."

     The Captain just glared.

     "All right, all right, no need to be this way," muttered Tatiana. "I will do the test. After all, what’s another pussy to eat?" She screwed her face in thought and added hopefully, "And maybe a good Lesbo show gets your cock so hard you’ll want to fuck me." She turned to Nadia and issued a new command. "Hey you, on the couch: don’t go anywhere. Lie down, take off your ugly suit, and wait for me..."

     This time, Tatiana did not bother with massage. In a somewhat apathetic manner, she kneaded Nadia’s breasts; then she abruptly threw open Nadia’s legs and buried her face between them. Tatiana kissed, licked, stroked, and prodded; but she did it half-heartedly. She was clearly distracted. Nevertheless, the woman was quite competent – her fingers and tongue felt awfully good, and Nadia had to struggle to keep bored expression on her face.

     All of a sudden, Tatiana stopped and turned to De La Peña, who stood watching nearby just as he did with Ana.

     "Aha!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "I saw that! Hey Boss, the front of your pant is bulging. Don’t try to hide it now! You are getting a hard on, aren’t you?"

     "Yes," agreed the Captain, to Nadia’s surprise. "I do have an erection." His voice was as calm as ever.

     "So I was right about the Lesbo show! Come on boss! If you want to fuck, then why don’t you fuck me? Just plug your cock into me – pick any hole you like."

     Pressing an apparent advantage, she moved an arm toward De La Peña’s pants. His icy stare stopped her in her tracks. Still, she made another attempt. "Yes, I know," she said somewhat peevishly. "I am being punished. I get it! But—" she continued hotly "—there are so many other ways to punish me. Tie me to a post and whip me! Make me choke on you cock and listen to me gurgling! Force me to lick your toes! Burn cigarettes against my skin! Clamp my nipples and stick pins into my butt! Ream my asshole until I howl with pain! There are so many possibilities – a punishment to fit any crime."

     The Captain made a face, then sighed. "It’s like this, Velez. Were you a normal girl, someone who hates torture, I would consider punishing you like that. That’s what I did to you in the past. But then I discovered that you are not normal. You are a bloody sadomaso, and you love being treated like in this way. I can slap you, choke you, burn you, beat you senseless – and you’d have an orgasm. Therefore, the only real punishment for you is not touching you at all."

     Visibly deflated, Tatiana grasped at the last straw. "But you want to fuck! You’ve got a woody: you said it yourself."

     The Captain gave a short laugh. "Why do you assume that I am aroused by you? In case you haven’t noticed, there is another woman here."

     Tatiana and Nadia both did a double-take. Tatiana stared at De La Peña as though he was about to sprout a pair of horns. The Captain just smiled.

     Tatiana stabbed a finger in Nadia’s direction and sputtered, "What, this piece of trash?"

     "Yes, this attractive woman," De La Peña answered nonchalantly, "As a matter of fact, I intend to have an intercourse with her at once." And he unzipped his pants.

     In a moment it became very apparent that the Captain really did sport an erection, and a magnificent one. Nadia could see why Tatiana wanted to fuck him so badly. It would be an honor for any woman to be penetrated by this thing. The man’s cock was much like the man himself: tall, straight, and hard as steel. You could hammer nails with it or make holes in a solid metal. Nadia saw this incredible cock pointing right at her and suddenly found it hard to breathe.

     "Get down to your hands and knees," ordered the Captain. "I want to see you ass."

     Nadia obeyed without thinking.

     She heard him coming up from behind, then felt his hands touch her buttocks. The tip of his cock brushed her inner thigh…Next instant she was airborne, as something hit her from a side with a force of a freight train. She flew off the couch, hit the floor, and tumbled several times. When she came to a rest she checked if she was all right. Luckily nothing was broken. She then turned and looked toward the couch to see what just happened.

     What happened was Tatiana. Running at full speed, this barrel of muscles crashed into Nadia with the force of freight train and literally hurled her down to the floor. With Nadia out of the way, Tatiana promptly dropped down on all four and established herself on the exact same spot formerly occupied by Nadia. She pulled down her panties and spread her butt cheeks, as though she was trying to tear them apart.

  

  "Fuck me!" she hollered at De La Peña. "Not her! Me!!!" Her cunt and asshole gaped right in the man’s face.

     Tatiana’s buttocks featured peculiar horizontal lines which were a bit lighter that the rest of her skin. It took Nadia a moment to realize what these were. Those livid stripes on Tatiana’s butt had to be scars left by multiple whippings. The Captain was right: Tatiana’s sexual tastes were truly depraved.

     "Fuck me!!!" Tatiana shrieked even louder.

     "Are you out of your mind?" barked De La Peña. "Get out!" He pried Tatiana’s hands off her ass, lifted her by the hips, and threw her to the floor. The Captain’s reaction and the shock of the fall quieted Tatiana. She mumbled something unintelligible and scampered away like a rat.

     "Serna, assume your previous position," ordered the Captain.

     Nadia surprised herself by how eagerly she complied. In no time at all she was on her knees, hands pulling apart the buttocks for the easier access.

     De La Peña wasted very little time with foreplay. He touched Nadia here and there as one touches a farm animal; then, almost at once, Nadia felt the head of his cock push against the entrance into her pussy. There was a moment when Nadia expected, for the first time in all these years, to be fucked in the proper hole. Just thinking about the possibility of a real cock – this cock! – up her pussy made her the wettest she had ever been. But De La Peña was not the kind of Commander who allowed himself perquisites prohibited to his subordinates; he did not intend to go in this way. The cock’s real target was an inch higher.

     Nadia inhaled sharply as the Prison Commandant’s cock penetrated her ass. She expected him to stop once his head was past her sphincter; but he pushed on. He kept driving it in steadily, going further and further, filling Nadia with even more his flesh. Every time she thought that now he was all the way in, she was painfully surprised – again – by the length of his member. No one had ever reached this deep into her; never before was she so thoroughly impaled. After he’d stopped pushing at last, he kept himself inside for a long time. Nadia squirmed, wrapped as she was around him, his cockhead deep within her bowels. He finally withdrew, only to return at once, going even deeper this time. He pumped Nadia ferociously. His cock moved back and forth like a burning steel piston inside Nadia’s gut, his heavy balls slapping her pussy with each forward thrust. Nadia never thought that a having such a big cock up her ass could be so much pleasure. Even the agonizing pain was enjoyable! Her breath caught; sweat poured down her face; and now she thought she could see steam coming out of her nose. The world around her disappeared; her whole body became an extension of the red-hot rod inside her. She felt her innards melting. Clusters of white stars exploded before her eyes; just at that moment the man lifted her legs in the air and pressed her ass to himself, squashing her buttocks against his hips. His cock seemed to grow twice as thick, and the pain in Nadia’s ass became unbearable. She cried out but he only pushed harder. He grunted into her ear, gave one last mighty thrust – and began spasming.

     Nadia shuddered with each contraction. The man’s ejaculation was so strong that Nadia would not have been surprised if his sperm flew right though her and sprayed out of her mouth. Even after he stopped ejaculating he stayed inside for a minute or more. His cock was buried in her all the way; he was hurting her but she was beyond caring. Abruptly he withdrew. The pain subsided but Nadia felt empty, as though part of her was suddenly removed. She wanted to be full again! She missed this wonderful cock already and she wanted it back where it belonged – inside her body. Nadia closed her eyes and tried to relive the last minutes.

     "Not bad, Serna." said the Captain "You proved yourself useful."

     Warm glow filled Nadia’s breast: his praise felt so good. She fervently wished she could prove useful to him once again. She’d do anything to feel him enter her one more time, to wrap herself around his hardness, to let him dig into her and split her apart without mercy. She burned with desire, and even Katia was forgotten for the moment as Nadia sunk into the depths of anticipation….

     "Sir, may I resume the test?" asked Tatiana.

     The Warden’s harsh voice shocked Nadia back to reality. She had completely forgotten about Tatiana’s presence. Nadia opened her eyes and looked: the woman stood right before to her, staring unblinkingly. Their eyes met, and Nadia flinched. Tatiana’s face radiated hatred like a kitchen stove radiates heat.

     "Ah yes, the test," said the Captain. "I forgot about it. I hope you pass, Serna. It would be a shame to hang someone as useful as you."

     Tatiana smiled thinly. She obviously had other ideas about Nadia’s passing.

     Without bothering to get dressed, De La Peña returned to his desk and sat down. He put one leg on top of the other and leaned back in his chair. "You may resume, Sergeant."

     Instantly Tatiana’s strong hands pushed Nadia on her back. A moment later, Tatiana’s face was between Nadia’s legs. Nadia felt, rather than saw, the other woman’s evil grin. There could be no doubt: Tatiana would do anything in her power to send this interloper to the gallows. This was war, and Nadia had better defend herself.

     In the beginning it wasn’t so bad. First thing Tatiana did was to lap her boss’s sperm out of Nadia’s ass. She pushed her tongue into Nadia’s asshole then proceeded to squeeze out every drop she could, swallowing it hungrily. Tatiana’s soft and supple tongue felt good in Nadia’s asshole; but the feeling was nowhere close to a real arousal. It was too early to feel safe though. Tatiana wasn’t trying to excite yet; she was simply retrieving what she thought belonged to her. The real battle would come later.

     After Nadia’s ass had finally ran dry, Tatiana’s tongue and lips found their way to Nadia’s pussy. Nadia tensed: this was it. The war was about to begin. As with any war, this one started with reconnaissance. Tatiana licked here and sucked there, as her fingers explored incessantly. Gradually she got more insistent. She was gentle one moment, forceful and wild the next; clit, lips, inner thighs, asshole: nothing was out of her reach. The woman was good – very good. Bringing Ana to her fatal orgasm was just a warm-up exercise for her. In this case, not only did Tatiana know what she was doing, she was incredibly motivated as well. Nothing could please her more than seeing Nadia dangle in the noose, and she put every possible effort into achieving this goal.

     For her part, Nadia did her utmost to resist. She knew that one wrong move on her part meant instant one-way trip to the wardrobe. She told herself to relax, to think of something else. To ignore the warm tongue in her pussy, the supple fingers stimulating her ass, or whatever Tatiana thought of doing now. Unfortunately, ignoring this was getting harder with each minute. Never before did Nadia get such a thorough treatment. All her buttons were pushed one after another; including those buttons that Nadia never even knew existed. Nadia had to stop it, to lock Tatiana’s manipulations out of her mind; but she found it next to impossible. In truth, she was beginning to enjoy this. Nadia realized that she was losing ground. Her pussy began to drip, as her sexual reflexes asserted themselves under the continuous stimulation. This was not dangerous yet. Nadia’s snatch was already wet with Tatiana’s spit, and the Captain – who was the real judge – was unlikely to notice any extra fluid. But Tatiana knew what was going on; she could taste the change. Encouraged, she grinned and redoubled her efforts.

     Things were not going well. Nadia knew that she had to find some way to steel her resolve, and soon. To remind herself of the price of failure, she turned her head the wardrobe and forced herself to look at its horrible contents. To her surprise, the stratagem worked beautifully. Seeing the corpses of three young women hung inside the wardrobe like so many pieces of old, discarded clothes scared Nadia enough to distract her from the ongoing sexual ordeal. Holding on to this feeling, she concentrated on the empty space in the wardrobe’s corner. She imagined a fourth corpse dangling in this place – her own corpse. The thought was so awful that Nadia felt hair standing up on her head. Her arousal instantly ebbed. For the first time she felt tentative relief.

     Tatiana sensed this change in mood and it vexed her. Nadia was happy to see that. All she had to do was to think about the horrors of hanging and nothing could touch her. A little more of this and she would be free! But Nadia’s relief did not last long.

  Just then, Tatiana managed to accomplish something that even Katia had failed to do – after many trials, the persistent woman had finally located Nadia’s G-spot.

     It was as though Nadia was hit by a lightning – a warm, wet lightning that focused on her vagina, causing it to swell and then seize up with tiny quivers. Nadia’s insides melted like hot butter, as her brain went into blissful overdrive. She wasn’t yet so far-gone as to give any outward sign of her pleasure; but Tatiana recognized what had happened and instantly went to work, combining G-spot stimulation with clit sucking, anal play, and other techniques from her huge bag of tricks. Nadia’s defenses were crumbling one by one. Desperately trying once again to shock herself out of the stupor, Nadia concentrated her attention on the dead bodies. She meditated on every sordid detail: the protruding tongues; the elongated necks; the curled toes; the small puddle of yellow liquid underneath Ana’s feet. But try as she might, Nadia could not make herself afraid. The spectacle of hanging bodies no longer seemed quite so horrible. On the contrary, the girls appeared peaceful and content, as though they were asleep after great sex. Then it struck her: this was exactly right! They did have great sex or something very much like it. That’s what being hanged must be like!

     A part of Nadia’s brain screamed that she was losing her senses, but Nadia ignored it. The more she studied the hanged girls, the more similarities she saw between hanging and regular sex. There were obvious parallels at every stage. A woman who stands on a chair with the noose around her neck must feel like she is lying naked in bed awaiting defloration. When the chair is taken away, she drops and finds herself hanged – a moment of pain followed by frantic activity, much like being penetrated for the first time. The subsequent air dance is just like riding a lover’s cock. And what does the hanged woman feel as she slowly strangles in the noose? Orgasm, decided Nadia. It has to be orgasm because of all the squirting.

     By now, Nadia saw enough women hanged in the nude to know every detail of the process – including what is generally hidden by clothes. And every executed woman squirted liquid out of her pussy. Nadia used to think this was urine; but this wasn’t like any peeing she had ever seen. Rather it looked exactly like, yes, cumming! It was cunt juice all along;

  Every girl, no matter how virginal or frigid in life, came like a whore as she swung in the noose. Nadia was sure of that. What they really sprayed out of their pussies was cunt juice, liberal amounts of it; the same sweet juice that Nadia loved to drink from between Katia’s lovely legs. Suddenly Nadia had a vision of Katia, naked, hanged, and squirting; and herself, kneeling below with her lips on her friend’s cunt, drinking every drop. Then the vision switched; now it was Nadia who hung, spurting her orgasm right into Katia’s waiting mouth. Nadia should’ve been terrified by such visions but she wasn’t. She felt strangely elated and a little bit wistful.

     It must’ve been the notion of Katia’s tongue in her pussy that carried Nadia beyond the point of no return. Tatiana’s skilled hands continued to work on her sex, but Nadia almost did not feel it. Now it was her own mind that did Tatiana’s work for her. Nadia was inexorably drawn toward the final release, and she welcomed it. She felt herself rise high in the air and start to float as if she no longer had any weight. Float? No. Hang! She was hanging in the noose, swinging gently to and fro; pleasant warm air touched her all over her naked body; soft rope caressed her stretching neck. She was peaceful and content. This is what being hanged must have felt like – like making love to the whole Universe!

     Climax was approaching fast; it was nearly here. In only a short time Nadia would not be able to hide her pleasure any longer. She did not care. She wanted to be hanged; she fantasized about hanging. She wanted to dangle in the air, to feel nothing under her feet, to have her neck squeezed firmly until she could not breathe. She wanted to twist, to kick, to have her tongue protrude from her mouth. She wanted to spurt freely from the cunt like a good hanged whore. She was so close to the fulfillment of her wishes! Only one step, one tiny step into nothingness, and she would join the others who had already experienced what Nadia desired most of all. Untold wonders awaited her on the gallows; she only had to make one small step.

     Nadia’s stomach muscles stiffened; her pussy pulsed almost painfully. She teetered right at the edge of a most powerful orgasm. Another moment and she will be writhing on the bed, her body shaking uncontrollably, her juices flying across the room. But first Nadia had to let out a scream…and she was out of breath. She needed air – just a bit more air before a noose cuts it off forever. She inhaled deeply, paused on the cusp of a mighty cry, and then…

     "That’s enough!" boomed a voice from above, like a thunderbolt from the sky. Nadia’s train of thoughts was instantly derailed and she was rudely deposited back into the real world.

     "I said enough!" repeated De La Peña.

     Nadia clenched her teeth and exhaled very, very slowly. Her former intoxication was gone without a trace; she was no longer even sexually excited. Her head was still a bit foggy but at least she had her common sense back. Nadia shuddered at the thought of how close she came to her undoing.

     Tatiana lifted her face above Nadia’s crotch. "Just one more minute!" she protested, "I almost had her!"

     "You obviously did not," the Captain said impatiently. "You’ve been at it for over an hour with no visible result. Face it: you failed. The girl is clearly no Lesbian. "

      "But she almost—"

      "The discussion is over. You had you chance, Sergeant; now stand aside."

      Reluctantly, Tatiana rose to her feet. She shot Nadia a malevolent look and turned to face her boss.

     "Andres." This was the first time Nadia heard her call the Captain by the first name. "We can’t just let her walk. She has seen too much. She knows things about you and me – about us!"

     "Hmm." He pondered. "I can’t go executing people simply because I feel like it. But there is something in what you say. Even though she could be valuable, perhaps we should dispose of her."

     Nadia closed her eyes in disappointment. How could she think that she was out of the woods?

     "Yes Sir! I’ll hang her right now!" Tatiana said eagerly.

     "No, not now. I haven’t decided yet. And need you to perform a service first."

     De La Peña got up from his chair. He was naked from the waist down. Tatiana’s face flushed in hopeful anticipation, as the Captain ambled unhurriedly toward her.

     "Although sex between women is contrary to our cause," he said as he walked, "A good girl-on-girl cunnilingus can look very exciting. Makes a fellow want to join the fun." He came up to Tatiana and cupped one of her breasts with his large hand. "This is why I stopped you."

       De La Peña squeezed the breast, making Tatiana squeal with delight. "You did a great job of licking pussy," he said into her ear in a whisper that carried easily across the room. "For that you deserve a reward. I will consider reducing your punishment or canceling it altogether if you make me cum the second time." He cupped the woman’s other breast and began massaging it roughly.

     Instantly Tatiana fell to her knees. She swallowed the Captain’s soft member as a starving man swallows food. She kept it completely inside her mouth as her hands stroked and squeezed his balls. The cock swelled in her mouth until she could not contain it anymore. She sucked noisily on his growing, hardening erection. When the cock was back to its working size, Tatiana swallowed it again. The impressively long shaft disappeared inside Tatiana’s maw; she took it in all the way to the balls without displaying even a hint of the gagging reflex. Only when her face grew tomato-red did she finally let go. Without giving Tatiana any respite, De La Peña grasped her by the ears and started the deepest face drilling Nadia had ever seen. The cock went in and out of Tatiana’s mouth, as the balls hit her chin with soft rhythmic slaps. The tip of his cock must have reached half way to her stomach. Any other woman would’ve gagged and vomited long ago; but Tatiana showed no apparent signs of discomfort, aside from an occasional tear running down her cheek. On the other hand, any other man subjected to such treatment would’ve squirted by now. However, De La Peña appeared to be nowhere near ejaculating. In fact, he looked increasingly bored. Tatiana noticed that and amplified the suction. When this failed to get him off, she increased the speed. He did not cum, so she increased the speed again, and then again. Soon her head was a blur. Nadia could almost hear Tatiana’s brain sloshing inside her skull; any faster and the woman’s neck would simply snap. Unfortunately for Tatiana, this still did nothing for the Captain; and now he was losing his erection. At last he decided to put Tatiana out of her misery and withdrew.

     "Yeah, yeah, it’s your famous turbo-deepthroat again," he said dully "Same old, same old." His cock was shrinking rapidly.

     Tatiana was devastated. "I see." she said sourly. "I am not good enough for you anymore. Why don’t you try your new girlfriend then?" she added nastily.

     The Captain looked up sharply. "Serna? It’s a thought." He beckoned to Nadia. "Come here. Are you any good? Show it. If you manage to bring me over the edge, I’ll let you go. But if not, I’ll hand you over to the good Sergeant. What she does with you is her business."

     Tatiana, who until this point was as gloomy as a storm cloud, suddenly brightened. "This is gonna be good! No way this piece of trash is better than me, so…" She glared at Nadia and then nodded meaningfully toward the wardrobe. "I have three corpses in there and an empty spot. I need a fourth corpse to complete the set. Understand?"

     Tatiana pulled Nadia off the couch and pushed her down on her knees in front of the Captain. "Suck the cock, bitch!" she commanded. Nadia dutifully did.

     The cock tasted of Tatiana’s saliva and, faintly, of Nadia’s own ass. But this was the least of her concerns. More importantly, the blasted thing was as flaccid as a soggy newspaper. What was she going to do? How would she succeed where a pro like Tatiana failed? Nadia tried to suppress panic. She still had a few minutes to think while her tongue polished the Captain’s cockhead.

     By looking into his eyes as she sucked his cock, Nadia managed to bring back the erection. That cheered her up. Still, she had a very long way to go and no idea how to get there. After ten minutes of sucking – and an unsuccessful attempt at a Tatiana-like deep throat – she was no closer to a solution. The Captain started to grow impatient – Nadia had better do something soon.

     Then it occurred to her. There might be another way of making the Captain spill his juice; something that Tatiana either did not know about, or was afraid to try. Nadia learned of this method from Estela Garrido – the extremely knowledgeable prostitute knew everything about what made the male body tick. Estela sometimes used this method on certain guards to get them off quickly; but she was the only one who did so. The other girls were too disgusted to even think about it.

     Estela said that this technique did not work on everyone, and that many men, perhaps most of them, reacted violently to it. If De La Peña was one of such men, Nadia was as good as dead. But what choice did she have? She decided to do it, and what happens, happens. Holding the cock firmly with her lips and tongue, Nadia inserted a finger into her pussy, still wet after the treatment given it by Tatiana. She twisted the finger two or three times, making sure it was thoroughly lubricated. She took a deep breath and spent several long moments gathering her courage. After she could delay no longer, Nadia finally went ahead. With one hand, she parted the man’s buttocks; then she placed the slippery finger against his asshole and pushed her way in.

     The Captain winced. His sphincter instantly stiffened around Nadia’s finger. His hands, which rested on her shoulders, stiffened as well, and Nadia thought that he was about to hit her or hurl her away. She was certain that her impertinence made him so angry that he would throttle her on the spot without even going through the formalities of a proper hanging. In her mind she could already feel his fingers tighten on her neck and squeeze the life out of her. She said her last goodbyes and shut her eyes in preparation for the final moments when she suddenly realized that nothing was happening. Her finger was in his ass, and yet he did not seem to be doing anything about it. This was a good sign. Cautiously encouraged, Nadia pushed her way deeper.

     When the finger was almost all the way in, its tip touched a round swelling. This was what Nadia was looking for –what Estela Garrido called the male G-Spot. Trying not to press too hard, Nadia began to massage the thing with gentle circular movements; and almost immediately the cock in Nadia’s mouth turned hard as steel.

  

  Nadia’s blowjob skills were not as good as Tatiana’s; she simply held as much of the shaft as she could fit in her mouth and sucked on it like on an oversized lollipop. But Nadia possessed one advantage over the oversexed Sergeant: she was able to stimulate the cock from the both ends. The technique proved to be more successful than Nadia thought possible. She was clearly driving the man wild. His breathing quickened; he clutched a fistful of Nadia’s hair and jerked her face closer to himself. Nadia gagged and sputtered happily. She felt him squeeze the invading finger as if trying to eject it, but Nadia knew that this was only a reflex, and so she held on. Very close now; she could already taste pre-cum. To hurry Captain De La Peña along Nadia cupped his balls and fingered his ass a fraction harder. Thirty seconds later she was rewarded with several mighty spasms, as her mouth filled with a surprisingly large amount of sperm. She winced with pain – his contracting sphincter muscles nearly severed her finger – but waited until the last tremors had subsided. Then she opened her mouth and triumphantly demonstrated its contents.

     No one moved or said anything for a long time. Tatiana was dumbstruck, and even De La Peña regarded Nadia with a measure of amazement. Nadia froze as well, but then remembered that her finger was still in his ass and swiftly, almost guiltily, pulled it out. It was only after they were disengaged that De La Peña broke the silence.

     "Very good, Serna," he said, "Very good indeed. What you did just now was exceptionally creative." His cock was bright red, and there was a small drop of white cum on the tip of it. "You are the first woman ever to succeed where Sergeant Velez failed, and I think this is no accident. Did you have a lot of sexual experience before you were arrested?"

     Nadia’s mouth was still full, so instead of speaking she shook her head from side to side.

     "Ah, a talented novice," said De La Peña with an expression of deep satisfaction. "That’s excellent! Now I want you—"

     He never had a chance to finish. Tatiana Velez suddenly leaped to her feet, pushed the Captain out of her way, and threw herself on top of Nadia. They both tumbled to the floor. Tatiana did a clever judo trick, and Nadia found herself lying on her back with Tatiana’s weight pinning her down. She felt Tatiana pry her jaws open. Nadia’s mouth was still full of cum, which she hadn’t had time to swallow yet. "It’s mine!" Tatiana howled. "Give me that!!!" She plunged her tongue into Nadia’s open mouth and began to slurp out the sticky liquid, swallowing feverishly then returning for more. From the outside, it looked as though Tatiana was giving Nadia an unusually vigorous French kiss; but to Nadia this felt like a brutal rape. She knew that this would not end with mere cum drinking. Something clearly snapped inside Tatiana’s mind, and Nadia was paralyzed with fear.

     Abruptly Tatiana stopped. She lay still on top of Nadia, her breasts pressing against Nadia’s own. Nadia could feel her ragged breathing. Tatiana’s face, just inches above Nadia’s, was contorted with rage; her bloodshot eyes were utterly mad.

     "Bitch!" Tatiana growled in a low voice. "No one steals my man! I’ll make you pay for this." She clutched Nadia’s neck and pressed her thumbs into the soft flesh of the throat. This happened so suddenly that Nadia had no time to react or even draw a breath. She felt pressure, then pain and the peculiar panic of suffocation. By now Tatiana clenched all of her fingers around Nadia’s neck, squeezing with all her strength. Nadia’s vision swam and she heard a loud noise in her ears. She bucked, making a desperate attempt to get away; but it was futile. The iron ring of fingers clutched her throat even tighter. Tatiana choked Nadia methodically, inexorably; nothing could make her stop until her victim was dead.

     Nadia’s mouth gaped in a silent scream. She writhed underneath Tatiana’s body, weakly and ineffectively. Her lungs felt as if were exploding in slow motion; and the noise was now deafening. Maintaining a deadly grip on Nadia’s neck, Tatiana resumed her deep French kisses. Nadia no longer felt them or cared. The pain of choking faded away as Nadia’s body went numb. Her vision darkened. A thought occurred to her, as though in a dream. "I am about to die…"

     Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pressure on Nadia’s neck vanished. After a time, Nadia became aware that she could breathe again. She inhaled lustily. Her mind cleared, and she remembered where she was. She was being choked to death…until just a moment ago. Eyesight was returning in stages; but Nadia still could see very little. Nevertheless, she could feel Tatiana’s bulk pressing her to the floor; so why did the madwoman let her go? What happened?

     Just then Nadia heard a sound. It was next to her ear, a long half-wheeze, half-gurgle that ended in ominous silence. When Nadia was able to focus her eyes, she saw Tatiana’s face a short distance above. The woman wasn’t looking down at Nadia; instead, her face was upturned, chin pointing forward. Her features were just as contorted as before, but in a different way. She had an odd expression: eyes half-closed, nose wrinkled as though she smelled something nasty, lips curled back to reveal a row of clenched teeth. And, although it could’ve been a trick of Nadia’s still poor vision, Tatiana’s face looked redder than usual. It took several moments for Nadia to realize that her vision was playing no tricks – and another moment to notice a coil of rope wrapped around Tatiana’s throat.

     Captain De La Peña stood above Tatiana, looking grim like a medieval executioner. It was he who held the ends of the rope. While Tatiana was busy strangling Nadia, the Captain picked up a piece of cord normally used for hanging, threw it around Tatiana’s throat, and pulled hard. The strangler had suddenly become the strangled.

     That must’ve been the only way to stop her, Nadia reflected. It was certainly an effective way. Tatiana still lay on her stomach on top of Nadia, but the front of her body was lifted upward. Her spine was arched back, head thrust toward the ceiling, as her neck was held in a vise. Her hands let go of Nadia’s throat, but the fists clenched and unclenched as though the woman was still trying to reach for Nadia and wring her neck.

     The Captain tightened the noose by twisting the ends of the rope. Tatiana’s face became crimson. De La Peña lifted the rope a few inches, pulling Tatiana’s head further back. The rope bit deeper into Tatiana’s throat, and tears spilled out of her eyes. The Captain studied Tatiana for a moment and lifted the rope another inch. Her eyes bulged; mouth popped open; and a long, glistening snake of a tongue fell out. The Captain nodded with satisfaction and gave the rope another half- twist. Tatiana’s tongue protruded even further. Thick, frothy saliva started to drip from its tip, landing on Nadia’s chin and lips. Nadia thought of wiping it away but her hands were still pinned under Tatiana’s body.

     After some meticulous mental calculations, De La Peña twisted the rope yet again. Tatiana began to thrash about. Nadia was intimately aware of Tatiana’s heavy body twisting and flexing on top of hers. Their bodies were so close together and so intertwined, that Nadia could feel every ripple of the woman’s muscles. As Tatiana shook in an agony of suffocation, her massive breasts swung from side to side just above Nadia’s chest, the long engorged nipples brushing Nadia’s cleavage. Periodically, De La Peña gave the rope a tug and watched with interest, as the strangling woman jerked her body in unison, spraying tears and saliva. One of such tugs freed Tatiana’s crucifix from its confinement between her boobs. After that, the heavy golden thing danced over Nadia on its chain, pricking Nadia’s skin with its unexpectedly sharp edges.

     Tatiana’s face was getting puffy and purple-hued. Her lips darkened and her tongue too had begun to swell with stagnant blood. The bulged eyes remained opened but assumed an alarming empty look, like a doll’s glass eyeballs. The Captain lifted the woman’s wrist and checked the pulse. Evidently, Tatiana’s pulse was still too strong for the Captain. He placed a foot on Tatiana’s behind, pinning both her and Nadia to the ground, and pulled on the rope with both hands until the noose was tightened to the limit. Tatiana tensed abruptly, then her muscles slackened and her pupils rolled into her skull. Nadia felt warm wetness spread between her legs: Tatiana was peeing – right into Nadia’s own open pee hole. De La Peña gave the rope one last jerk and let it go.

     Nadia scrambled out from under Tatiana’s inert body and, with an effort, climbed to her feet. Nadia’s neck hurt like hell; it was hard to stand upright. She stepped back involuntarily, tripped over something, and nearly keeled over. She looked behind to see what had caused her to stumble. With a shock, she realized that she almost fell on top of Tatiana.

     Not that the Sergeant would’ve felt anything even if Nadia did. The woman lay on the floor in a puddle of her own piss. She wasn’t moving. She lay face down, and her tongue, still far out of her mouth, was touching the floor as though she intended to lick it clean. One of her legs was straight but the other was bent at an odd angle. Her wig was askew; the lingerie, a tangled mess. Her soaked, ripped panties were wrapped around one ankle, together with one of the stockings and the remains of the garter belt. De La Peña’s boot left a big red imprint across her naked butt.

     The Captain surveyed the wretched heap that was Tatiana. He kicked her lightly on the ribs, then lifted her head by the hair and stared into her unseeing eyes.

  "She is not dead," he declared.

     Looking at the senseless body at her feet, Nadia found this hard to believe. But a moment later, as if to prove the Captain right, Tatiana stirred and inhaled noisily. Her hand found its way to her throat. She fingered the rope, still tied around her neck, but made no attempt to remove it. After a fit of coughing she tried and failed to get up. Her knees slid apart in the pool of piss and she flopped back onto the ground. As her belly slapped the floor, more piss squirted out of her cunt.

     Tatiana repeated her attempts twice more with the same pathetic result. On the fourth try she finally succeeded. She stood unsteadily on her hands and knees, eyes swiveling, looking for the Captain. Her tongue was still out of her mouth, though it looked much healthier than before. In this animal-like pose, with a leash around her neck and her tongue hanging out, Tatiana resembled nothing more than a large female dog. She found De La Peña, gave a strange bark, and started to crawl toward him. Her eyes were fixed on his face.

     At this point Nadia started to worry about the Captain’s safety. But she needn’t have feared. When Tatiana reached the his feet, she prostrated herself before him, and, with all the energy she could muster, began to lick his boots.

     "What the hell are you doing?" hissed De La Peña.

     "Please Master," Tatiana croaked in response. "Please do it again." To make her point more clear, she lifted the ends of the rope and presented them to the Captain.

     "You want me to strangle you again," stated De La Peña.

     "Yes Master! Please!"

     The man looked disgusted. "You had an orgasm, didn’t you?"

     "Three," she said and resumed licking a boot. "Could…have…had…a fourth…" she said between the licks, "But…you…let…go…of the rope…too…soon…"

     "Velez," he said sternly, "I had no intention of giving you gratification. You were about to destroy a valuable asset, and I had to stop you by any means possible."

     "Don’t you want to punish me for my transgression?"

     "Certainly."

     "Then punish me now! Please, Master. Take the rope! Choke the life out of me as gasp for air!"

     "No. Asphyxiation only gives you pleasure."

     "Then beat the shit out of me and tear my cunt with a baseball bat!"

     "You’ll like that too."

     "I swear I won’t! I’ll hate every second of it!"

     De La Peña shook his head, "Velez, you are such a terrible liar."

     Tatiana thought a little. "What about this? You hang me upside down by the feet. As I am hanging helpless, you whip my ass bloody, run pins through my nipples, and drip burning wax down my pussy. Then you leave me like that overnight. Wouldn’t that be great punishment?"

     "No it wouldn’t. We tried it already and it didn’t work."

     Tatiana continued to wheedle, suggesting ever more bizarre tortures. Nadia was very impressed with the breadth of the woman’s imagination. The Captain listened for a while, then put his hand up.

     "Enough! The problem with you, Velez, is that you are a goddamned masochist. You enjoy anything I do to you and always come back for more. How can I punish you without giving you pleasure?"

     "You could execute me," Tatiana said matter-of-factly.

     "What?"

     "I disobeyed your orders, didn’t I? So hang me for the insubordination. There is an empty space in the wardrobe, you could drop me there. I’ll make the noose and everything myself, you’ll only need to pull the stool and watch me dance. You can hang me naked or in full uniform, whatever makes you hornier. But my personal preference is to hang without any clothes and without a hood."

     "You are not kidding, are you." said the Captain.

     "Kidding? No way! As you said, I like being asphyxiated. Those bitches I hang – sometimes I picture myself in their places. I get such a kick out of it! I often have this fantasy where you jerk off, as you watch me dance in the air, wearing nothing but my birthday suit. I cum so hard when I think about that." Tatiana’s voice grew husky. Unconsciously she reached down and began to masturbate. "I imagine you pulling the chair from under me. I twist, and turn, and lift my legs high. You can see every inch of my body, and I am helpless to prevent it. You look at my bouncing tits and my shaking ass, and your cock becomes rock hard. I look so sexy hanging by the neck! You stroke your cock, as I kick and jerk for your pleasure. When I am tired of kicking, I just hang nervelessly, swaying slowly back and forth. You lift me by the ankles and rub your cock between my feet. I shake in agony, but you don’t care; even when I am dead you continue having your way with my corpse. At last you spray your hot cum onto my cooling toes and then…" The rest of Tatiana’s speech was a series of unintelligible gasps.

     "You are even sicker than I thought," said the Captain after Tatiana fell silent. He brooded for a moment. "Well, if you want to hang so badly, I personally have no problem with that. You’d probably have five orgasms as you hang, but at least I’d be rid of you. And I do have to admit, seeing you hanged does have a certain appeal." He glanced at the wardrobe, then quickly shook his head as though trying to clear an unwanted image. "Unfortunately, I need you alive. You are the best executioner we’ve got. Santana is not nearly as good as you and never will be; she lacks imagination. Vea shows promise but she still has a lot to learn. You, on the other hands, are excellent. You do your job with passion. Sometimes too much passion, but that’s all right. You are a pervert and a maniac, and that is precisely what makes you so suitable for the job. No, you are too useful to execute."

     "This is great!" exclaimed Tatiana, who obviously like the compliments. "You can punish me without killing me. This mean you punish me again in the future. And again, and again, and again! Please Master!" She flopped to her belly and resumed licking boots. "Please! Please! Pleeeeease! I am burning to be punished by you!"

     "Stop slobbering all over my footwear!" growled De La Peña. He shoved the toe of his boot into Tatiana’s face to stress the point. "And don’t call me Master!"

     "Sorry Mast–, I mean, Sir!" wheezed Tatiana. The kick was so strong that it brought tears to her eyes. She touched the spot on her cheek that connected with the boot and said, "This felt good! Please kick me again."

     De La Peña threw his hands in the air. "You are impossible!" Tatiana grinned half-apologetically and half-proudly. The Captain carefully put down his foot and made a face. "I need to find a punishment for you." he said, "A real punishment, something that you actually will not like." He scratched his neck. "But I can’t think of anything just now."

     Right at this moment Nadia sneezed. A dust mite got into her nostril, and all her effort to stay silent went to naught. The Captain, who until now appeared to have forgotten about Nadia’s existence, looked up sharply. Nadia froze, desperately trying to make herself invisible, but it didn’t help. De La Peña was staring at her with a strange, unflagging intensity. An idea glimmered in his eye.

     The Commandant spoke to Tatiana without looking at her. "I just remembered. There is one thing that you hate more than anything. You demonstrated this only an hour ago." He got up and strode purposively toward Nadia, who backed away apprehensively. He stood in front of Nadia, looming over her. For a while he regarded her with the same intense expression. Then, ignoring Nadia’s panic, he pulled her to him, took her face in his hands, and kissed her soundly on the lips.

     The kiss hit Nadia like a brick wall. Her mind was ripped to shreds by conflicting emotions of fear, surprise, and burning arousal. She lost track of where she was and what she was doing there; she felt only his hands on her cheeks and his lips against hers. Her brain was scrambled beyond repair, running in all directions at once. Her body, however, knew what to do, instantly and without hesitation. Her face flashed, knees weakened, and her pussy became rapidly and humiliatingly wet. Automatically, without any thought at all, she parted her lips and returned the kiss.

     "No-o-o! No-o-o!" The walls shook; Nadia was deafened. The sound was more animal howl than human speech. Startled, Nadia let go of De La Peña’s tongue. They both looked down and saw Tatiana rolling on the floor, pounding the boards with a fist. "No-o-o!" she wailed. "No-o-o! You can’t do this!"

     De La Peña’s lips crinkled sardonically. This was precisely the reaction he was shooting for. "And why not?" he inquired with exaggerated concern.

     "You need me!" shrilled Tatiana. "Only me! Not some random prison bitch! Only I am your cum receptacle – and she is nobody! "

     "Here is where you are wrong. Serna is a beautiful woman. Very heterosexual. Worships cock and does what she is told. And she doesn’t like being whipped, choked, or hanged, so if I decide to punish her she won’t enjoy it. I say she is perfect."

     Tatiana played her last ace. "But you can’t just let her go! She saw and heard too much! What if she tells anyone? You must kill her as soon as possible"

     "She won’t tell. Will you, Serna?"

     Nadia vigorously shook her head.

     "See? Now get up!" The Captain pulled Tatiana to her feet. She tried to resist, and he almost slapped her but changed his mind at the last moment.

     "Sergeant Velez." said the Captain. " Here are my orders. Every Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday for the next six weeks, you will bring Serna into my office at twenty-three hours sharp. You will remain inside and watch us fuck…no, don’t interrupt! You will be required to watch the whole thing from the beginning to end. You will be forbidden to touch anyone or interfere otherwise. You will not be allowed to look away. You will not be allowed to leave early.

  You will stay and watch until I give you the permission to go. Is this understood?"

     Tatiana mumbled something. De La Peña raised his voice. "Is this understood?"

     "Yes, Mast—Sir!" Tatiana’s lips trembled. He mascara ran down her face.

     "Good! And one more thing. I know all about your little tricks. I know that you and other Wardens frame the prisoners you don’t like and have them hanged for imaginary crimes. Normally, I let you have your little fun. But not in this case. I want to make it crystal clear: Serna is off limits. If I want her hanged, I will do it myself. This is my decision and not yours. Understood? Good! Now get decent and return the prisoner to the dormitory."

     Tatiana whimpered. Without looking at the crushed woman, De La Peña returned to his desk.

    

     Tatiana took a quick shower in the Commandant’s bathroom. She emerged ten minutes later, having put on a fresh set of uniform. She looked much more composed, almost calm; the only clues to her true emotional state were faint red circles around the eyes and a shirt collar that was turned up to hide the rope burns on her throat. Tatiana did not speak to Nadia, just beckoned her to follow. After the office door closed behind them, the transformation was complete. The stricken look on Tatiana’s face had entirely disappeared, replaced by the usual cold arrogance. The back straightened, the chin turned up. The regular, everyday Sergeant Velez – the crazy murderous bitch known so well to every Santa Margarita prisoner – was back. Nadia was terrified.

     Silently the Sergeant led Nadia down the corridors, ignoring curious glances from occasional guards. After they turned around the last bend, Tatiana stopped abruptly. She seized Nadia by the throat and pinned her to a wall next to the dorm door. Nadia squirmed and tried to slither away but the iron grip prevented her from moving even an inch.

     "So you think you’ve won?" whispered Tatiana in a low, blood-chilling hiss. She put a finger under Nadia’s chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. "You think you stole him away from me?

  Think again! Yes, you may have him – for now. I can’t touch you yet. But I have a long hand and longer memory. I will get you eventually, you can be sure of that!" Tatiana scowled, then suddenly gave Nadia a wide toothy smile. "By the way, they tell me that you are a part of the gallows’ building crew. So let me give you a piece of advice: build it well. Make sure the new gallows is beautiful to look at and comfortable to swing from. You know why? Because you’ll be swinging from it soon!"

       With these words, Tatiana let go of Nadia’s throat and pushed her through the dorm door.

PART 4

     On a Monday morning ten days later Nadia walked among a group of prisoners. They were escorted downstairs to report for work. Nadia was making a huge effort not to move too awkwardly; after yesterday’s anal pounding she still had trouble sitting down or walking straight. She caught sidelong glances from other girls but pretended not to see them; there was nothing she could tell them anyway. Nadia was not a liberty to discuss where she went three times a week and what she did there.

     Shuffling uncomfortably, Nadia entered the "big room", as the prisoners called the former gym. The rest of the building crew was not far behind. Monica Cubero was there. Susana Espinosa. Claudia Lavilla who replaced poor Ana Salvador. Most importantly, dear Katia was there too, and this made Nadia feel a little better.

     The women stepped on the broad expanse of the new carpet and donned their work clothes, hiding for a while their customary nudity. They eyed each other uneasily, not saying one word. Everyone was nervous: today was their last day of work.

     The newly erected gallows loomed in the middle of the room, smelling of freshly sawn wood. It was a simple contraption: a narrow platform with five steps leading up to it; and a two high posts that supported a sturdy crossbeam. Eight iron hooks were bolted to the bottom of the crossbeam. Underneath the hooks were eight flaps – cantilevered squares of wood – loosely attached to the platform. These were meant to serve as trapdoors. No rope was tied to the hooks yet; but next to the gallows lay a coil of hemp, a cutting blade, and a ladder.

     Everything was in readiness. This newly built contraption might have been crude and ungainly; but it was perfectly serviceable. But for the Commandant it was not good enough. For some unfathomable reason he wanted the thing to look nice, so he ordered it polished and lacquered. Nadia and the others were to finish this job today, climbing up to the crossbeam, crawling in the narrow space underneath the platform, meticulously applying foul-smelling varnish to every inch of bare wood.

     The boss, Ignacio Escobar, was oiling trapdoor hinges. He silently pointed to cans of varnish stacked nearby, then continued with his own job. Nadia picked up a can and a brush. Noticing that no one was watching her at the moment she paused and looked up. Something about the gallows bothered her from the moment she saw the blueprint. It was right there under the crossbeam: the hooks. There were eight of them, eight pieces of sturdy iron securely attached to the wood and ready to bear human weight. This was a mystery. Why so many?

     The girls asked the question in the beginning and got no clear answer. Since then the puzzle had become even more enigmatic because there hadn’t been any official executions in the last ten days or more. That did not mean no one was hanged during that time. Three pairs of girls were taken by the guards in the middle of the night never to return. Only Nadia knew what happened to them; she saw their naked bodies sway lifelessly inside the wardrobe in the Commandant’s office. But other prisoners did not know and thought that the girls were simply taken to another prison. In any event, the last such event has taken place more than a week ago and no one died since then.

     So whom did they intend to hang on these gallows?

     Nadia turned this question in her mind as she laid herself flat and dove under the platform. Her job for today was to apply a coat of varnish to the gallows’ underside. No one would ever see this side of the boards but the Captain’s instructions had been unequivocal: every single surface of the new gallows had to gleam. That was okay; Nadia liked doing what she did. She could have accomplished the task in a couple of hours; but there was absolutely no reason to hurry, so Nadia continued to ponder the riddle of the hooks as she leisurely moved the brush back and forth.

     Her train of thought was interrupted by an abrupt clang. The door to the big room flew open and four people marched in. From her vantage point Nadia could see only feet but she easily recognized the gait and the footgear. Those four were Sergeant Tatiana Velez, Warden Ines Santana, and two guards. There were other prisoners working around the room, and for a moment Nadia hoped that Tatiana and the others’ business was with those prisoners. Unfortunately, they all made a beeline to the gallows.

     Every girl in the room stopped working. Everyone held their breath. In the ensued hush Tatiana’s voice rang especially loud, "Hey you! The gallows crew! Get out and make formation!"

     The women left their brushes behind and assembled themselves in a short row. Tatiana walked along the row menacingly, giving everyone an evil eye but lingering on Nadia for a particularly long time. In the end, however, she singled out Susana Espinosa. "You! Three steps forward!"

     After a short pause Susana did as she was told.

     "Turn around! Now disrobe!"

     Susana turned, then just stood there, blinking dumbly at the Sergeant. "Take! Off! Your! Clothes!" shouted Tatiana, emphasizing each word. These simpler words had gotten through Susana’s thick skull. The girl hastily unbuttoned her overalls and threw them to the floor. Naked, she awaited further instructions.

     Tatiana took her time studying the prisoner. Susana Espinosa was quite an attractive woman, in a somewhat cow-like fashion. Everything about her was big. She had wide shoulders; long hair made up into single thick braid; massive, melon-like breasts; spacious ass with buttocks like pillows; and just the right amount of baby fat around the mid-section. Susana’s eyes were pretty enough but lacked even a smallest spark of intelligence, reinforcing an impression of a great dumb cow.

     Tatiana cupped her palm and lifted Susana’s breast, as though weighing it. Susana stared at Tatiana’s hand with a dull surprise. "Sit down," Tatiana said quietly. After a moment, Susana sat on the carpet. "Spread your legs." Susana spread her leg, opening her sex before the row of prisoners. Tatiana nodded to her escort. "Now."

     Warden Santana stepped forward and, bending down, pushed the sitting woman flat on her back. One guard pinned down Susana’s left arm to the floor; in a moment, the second guard did the same to her right arm. Santana straddled Susana’s body and sat on her chest, locking the woman’s head between her thighs. In mere moments Susana was effectively incapacitated.

     Tatiana kneeled between Susana’s legs. With an effort, she lifted one leg, then another, shifting them farther apart. Satisfied, she turned her attention what was between the legs.

     Susana’s pussy was of a set with the rest of her. It was a broad black gulch framed by meaty lips, with a large, clearly visible nodule of clit hanging from top. Wearing a bored expression on her face, Tatiana took the clit between her two fingers and started to rub it. Susana bucked and arched her back. In a skillful, but oddly impersonal and even businesslike, manner Tatiana continued to massage the sensitive spot; and before long Susana’s hole was glistening with freshly squeezed juice. While Tatiana rubbed Susana’s clit with one hand, she placed the other hand, formed into a fist, against the woman’s dark opening and pushed. Susana stiffened. Nevertheless, Susanna’s pussy was large enough – and moist enough – for the fist to disappear inside.

     Tatiana started to suck on Susana’s clit, making her relax. Susana moaned in ecstasy, while the Sergeant slid her hand ever deeper into the woman’s wet cavern. When Tatiana’s arm was in half way to the elbow she stopped the oral stimulation and carefully withdrew her hand, ignoring Susana’s obvious desire to prolong the experience. She turned to one of the guards and said, "Go get him!" The guard promptly left the room. After he went, Tatiana returned to Susanna’s pussy. She tried to close that gaping hole by pressing the lips together. That didn’t work too well. Susanna’s pussy was a big black O and nothing could be done about it. Tatiana shrugged and got to her feat.

     There was a pause. Susana lay spread-eagled on the floor, breathing hard. The other girls stood silently, trying to understand what just happened. A few minutes later the guard returned, with Captain De La Peña in tow. The Commandant noted Susana Espinosa lying naked on the floor with Ines Santana and the other guard holding her down, and eyed Tatiana skeptically.

     "Velez, what is this about?"

     "I caught a thief!" cried Tatiana, while unobtrusively shifting her wet hand behind the back.

     De La Peña raised an eyebrow.

     "No, this is for real." insisted his second in command. "She stole something from me!"

     "Velez," the Captain said mildly, "You no longer have the liberty to liquidate anyone you want. If it were up to you, there’d be no prisoners left by now."

     "But she did! I can prove it!"

     De La Peña looked tired. "Sergeant, we went through this before. How would a prisoner steal anything? Where would she hide it?"

     Tatiana smiled smugly. "I’ll show you!"

     Once again the Sergeant sat between Susana’s legs. She lifted the prisoner’s knees and made a big display of spreading them far apart. Then she pushed a finger against Susana’s hole, scraping it as if by accident against the clit. The captive woman gasped and jerked. "Aha! Trying to escape!" exclaimed Tatiana for the Captain’s benefit. Without a warning, she plunged her whole wrist into Susana’s wide open pussy. By now Susana was stretched so wide, that Tatiana’s hand slid easily into the dark tunnel. The Sergeant made a show of reaching for something inside. Apparently she found it, because her face assumed a triumphant expression. She slowly pulled her hand out – not too far, just enough to reveal that she held something in her fingers.

     Susana tried to lift herself on her elbows to see what was there between her legs. Ines Santana unceremoniously pushed her back down.

     "Recognize this?" Tatiana asked the Captain, her voice gleeful. He nodded curtly. Tatiana shifted on her haunches, and Nadia could see that she held a yellow glimmering object wedged between Susana’s pussy lips. Nadia knew instantly what it was.

      The Sergeant pointed her hand at the prostrate prisoner. "This bitch stole my crucifix and hid it in her vagina! She must be punished!"

     De La Peña rolled his eyes. "Sergeant Velez, please be so kind and cut the drama. Thanks to your enthusiasm for punishments, we executed so many prisoners that we may not have enough of them for the next week’s event."

     Tatiana blinked. "But she stole my crucifix! You saw it yourself! You must order her to hang."

     "Sir," Ignacio Escobar spoke up unexpectedly. "We do need to test the gallows. Need to hang someone anyway; may as well be her."

     De La Peña looked at one and then at the other. "You both have a point," he said. "She did appear to steal and hide the crucifix and we do need to test the gallows." He sighed. "Very well. One more won’t make much difference. But—" he glared at Tatiana, "—only one!" With these words, the Captain turned on his heels and marched to the exit.

     Even before the doors closed behind him, Ines Santana was perched on top of a ladder, tying a rope to one of the hooks. She chose the left side of the gallows where the platform hasn’t been covered by varnish yet.

     Meanwhile, Tatiana raised Susana to her feet. She didn’t bother to remove the crucifix, which remained locked between Susana’s thighs. A guard tied the prisoner’s arms behind her back. After he was done, Tatiana grasped a handful of the Susana’s big soft breast and squeezed it in an iron grip. Susana whimpered.

     "Do you understand that you are about to hang?" Tatiana asked softly. The girl looked at Tatiana with her dark bovine eyes and nodded. "Do you understand why?" Susana shook her head. Tatiana laughed.

     Inez Santana, who joined her superior after she done with the noose, led Susana towards the gallows. They climbed the steps, Susana in front, the diminutive Warden pushing her from behind. Santana pointed at a trapdoor. "Step over here." Susana obeyed. Carefully, almost tenderly, the Warden placed a bag over Susana head; and above the bag, a noose. “Ready!” she called out and jumped from the platform. Susana started to tremble.

     There was a small delay, as Ignacio Escobar explained to Tatiana how to operate the trapdoors. Apparently, to trigger a lock that secured the hinges one had to pull on a cord tied to a ring underneath the trapdoor. Tatiana, who was eager to make Susana swing before De La Peña changed his mind, immediately gave the cord a mighty tug. The gallows shook; Susana flinched; but — nothing else happened. The trapdoor remained in place.

     Ignacio Escobar swore. Inez Santana commanded Susana to step back from the trapdoor and the girl obeyed with alacrity. Shivering with fear, she stood on the platform, as Ignacio tried to fix the jammed hinges. He worked for several minutes under Tatiana’s impatient glare. Susana’s shaking intensified; large beads of sweat suddenly appeared all over her body, as she waited for the final command. At last Ignacio gave up. He took out a screwdriver and removed the hinges, together with the trapdoor itself. Tatiana nodded to Santana, who, with a light tap on a shoulder, encouraged the noosed girl to step forward. The blinded woman did not see that the trapdoor she stood on was now missing. She obeyed the command and confidently stepped over the edge of the platform.

     A tight noose prevented Susana from falling too far down. She dropped only three or four inches so that her ankles were level with the platform. The moment the rope got taut, Susana started to dance a fast jig; with legs kicking, arms flapping, massive breasts shaking and swaying like water balloons. Her pleasant curviness now was killing her fast; the girl’s neck was stretching longer by the second.

     The golden crucifix had somehow remained stuck between Susana’s legs, and Tatiana has made no attempt to retrieve it. When Susana kept her legs together, the thing’s hard edges nicked the insides of her labia. But whenever the agony of suffocation forced Susana to spread wide, the crucifix dangled freely from her pussy. It swung madly back and forth between the girl’s thighs as if it was dancing on its own.

     Tatiana licked her lips as she watched the hanged girl squirm in the noose. Before long, the big woman put a hand into her pants – same hand, still wet, that she used to probe Susana’s insides – and started to masturbate shamelessly. She moaned and groaned as she rubbed herself; but her face reflected more than a simple erotic satisfaction. Tatiana gloated! By masturbating, she celebrated a destruction of a personal enemy.

     Susana’s struggles ended quite abruptly. One moment she was kicking and clutching at the rope; the next, her limp body was turning slowly in the noose. A stream of piss washed the crucifix, which started to gleam wetly. Tatiana reached up with a free hand – not the one in her pants – and for the third time today squeezed Susana’s tit. The hanged girl showed no reaction. Tatiana took the dead girl’s bare foot, placed it between her legs, and started to grind her hips. Susanna’s body shook in tact with Tatiana’s thrusts, dripping piss all over the woman’s uniform. The prisoners goggled at the Sergeant but Nadia was not surprised. She had seen Tatiana achieve a shuddering orgasm by humping a hanged girl’s leg.

     After a minute of this Tatiana remembered that she had an audience. She whirled around and glowered. "What are you staring at? Don’t you have work to do?" The girls shrunk back and cowered. Nadia sighed inwardly. Of course they had work to do. In fact, more work than before, now that a member of their construction team dangled from the very same gallows she helped to make. The prisoners started to shuffle back toward their workplaces. Those who had to pass by Tatiana were giving  the Sergeant a wide berth. Nadia tried to do the same; however, she hardly made two steps when Tatiana’s voice made her freeze in her track. "Serna. A couple of words with you."

     Nadia had no choice but to go to Tatiana. She approached the Sergeant and the grotesque thing next to her, which used to be a living woman. Tatiana did not turn but continued to play with the hanging body. She pushed it lightly, making it twist on the rope. When it faced away she caught it and pressed a cheek against Susana’s ample ass. She run the tongue along the curve of a buttock. Nadia waited.

     Tatiana’s face was flushed, a nasty contrast with the hanged girl’s deathly gray skin. Her eyes glowed with something that resembled triumph. Without turning, Tatiana spoke to Nadia. "The dumb bitch didn’t even know why she was hanged," Tatiana said conversationally, poking Susana in the ass to indicate who she was talking about. "That’s not surprising – the cow was brain-dead even when she was alive." At last Tatiana turned and looked straight at Nadia. "You, on the other hand…" Tatiana’s eyes narrowed. "You are smart. You know the real reason this cunt had it coming, don’t you?"

     Nadia was afraid of this. She did have a pretty good idea why Tatiana went to such lengths to destroy Susana Espinosa. Susana knocked the Sergeant off her feet and unwittingly caused a series of events that led to Tatiana losing Captain De La Peña’s favor. Killing the poor girl was Tatiana’s way to avenge the humiliation.

     Tatiana read the awareness in Nadia’s eyes and smiled. "I see we understand each other well." Nadia gulped. Suddenly the big woman made a surprised face. "Oh, nearly forgot! Need to get my crucifix back." Forgetting Nadia for a second, Tatiana turned to Susana.

     Grasping the hanged girl by the knees, Tatiana parted her limp legs and moved her face into the open space between. She touched the dangling crucifix with her lips; stuck out her tongue and licked the remaining drops of liquid off the metal; then she caught the pendant with her teeth and pulled it. The gold chain slipped out of Susana’s pussy. Tatiana took the chain by the end and with a flourish restored the whole wet and smelly thing around her neck.

     "See, I always get what I want," said Tatiana, flashing her teeth at Nadia. She made a step back, and slowly surveyed Susana’s body from the hooded head to the stretched, pointing toes, as though she was admiring a piece of art.

     "Looks beautiful," she said as if to no one in particular, "But something is missing. What could it be?" She screwed her face in mock contemplation, then opened her eyes wide as though an idea just occurred to her. "Oh, I know! What’s missing is…another dangling bitch!" To emphasize the point, Tatiana shaped a female figure in the air next to Susana.

     Nadia felt Tatiana’s fingers clench painfully around her arm. Abruptly Tatiana jerked back her hand, making Nadia stumble toward her. The bigger woman caught her and held her in iron grip. Tatiana’s face hovered inches above Nadia’s; her breath reeked of Susana’s juices. "No one crosses me and lives," Tatiana hissed, spittle flying into Nadia’s eyes. "No one! Andres thinks he can protect you but I know better. I’ll find a way to make you swing! I promise."

     Nadia shuddered: it was only the second time Tatiana threatened her this openly. Nadia knew that this was not an idle threat; Susana’s lifeless corpse testified to the substance behind it. Nadia couldn’t stop trembling from fear. Tatiana felt it and showed her teeth.

     Just as suddenly as it started, anger drained from Tatiana’s face. She smiled again, and this time her smile was almost gentle. "I kind of like you," she said to Nadia. "You are cute and sweet, and your pussy tastes great… It will be a real pleasure to string you up." Nadia sensed Tatiana’s fingernail trace imaginary noose around her neck.

     "A rope collar suits you very well," murmured Tatiana into Nadia’s ear. "I’ll make sure you’ll get to wear one. When your time comes, I’ll enjoy watching you dance. Your dance will be long and beautiful, and after you’re done I will open you up and eat your dripping pussy!"

     And with these words, to Nada’s everlasting shock, Tatiana kissed her.

PART 5

     Nothing much happened in the next several days but something was clearly up. Harassed guards ran to and fro on mysterious errands. Scowling Wardens supervised the activities, yelling at the guards and at each other. The prison Commandant appeared once or twice to give speeches about sacrifice and contribution to the war effort; but he looked distracted; as if his mind was elsewhere at the moment.

     Aside from De La Peña with his speeches, nobody paid much attention to the prisoners. The girls could’ve had a Lesbian orgy in the middle of the cafeteria and no one would notice. All work in the gym had suspended and the place permanently locked. This meant that the gallows stood empty and inaccessible; no one was being executed. The girls were understandably happy. A majority of them believed that the hangings were over for the foreseeable future; everyone remembered Captain’s remark about executing "too many". His words were certainly true: out of more than sixty prisoners just a few weeks ago only thirty six remained, so at some point the hangings had to stop.

     Nadia shared this optimism to some degree but didn’t know how much of it applied to her personally. None of the other girls were repeatedly threatened by the prison’s Number Two officer who could easily convince the Commandant that thirty five heads were not much different from thirty six. Nadia did not estimate her own survival chances to be all that high. But there was nothing she could do about it, so she chose to put this out of her mind and, instead, concentrated on a different question.

     What was going on?

     Nadia guessed that, whatever the prison administration was up to, it had something to do with their Lesbian witch hunts. The purpose behind this brutal persecution was always puzzled her. Clearly, Captain De La Peña and the regime he represented did not object to the sexual practice itself. His Chief Warden, Sergeant Tatiana Velez, was openly bisexual and he didn’t mind it a bit. But for the prisoners it was a capital offense even to touch another woman. Why? Was it simply a ruse to get as many of them hung as possible? Nadia did not think so. But she couldn’t think of any other reasons. The only thing she knew was that those reasons had to be related to the secret preparations.

     At last, the long-awaited day has arrived. The prisoners knew that it was here from various unusual breaks in their normal daily routine. In the morning they were aroused earlier than usual and given an uncommonly solid breakfast. Then they were sent to the showers, where each girl received a small bar of aromatic soap and a surprisingly generous allotment of time. There was no guard in the room to watch the clock—or, for that matter, to demand sex from the prisoners. Come to think of it, no guard had molested a prisoner in quite some time, which, Nadia decided, on the balance did not bode well.

     The girls took their sweet time soaking in the luxuriously warm water, splashing it all over their bodies, rubbing fragrant suds into their skin. The first shift didn’t want to leave when the second shift came to replace them, so for a while there were two girls under each shower head. This was sorted out eventually, but by the time both shifts were done bathing, it was already lunchtime.

     The lunch was light but filling, and, as an added bonus, everyone smelled good. Unfortunately, after lunch things went downhill. The girls were divided into pairs and herded into toilets, where they were handed big rubber bladders with attached tubes. Those were enemas, and the prisoners were given a disgusting task of sticking them into each other butts.

     Nadia was paired off with Patricia Abril, a dusky-skinned, kinky-haired girl whom Nadia didn’t particularly like. "Ow, ow, ouch!! This hurts!!!" protested Patricia, as Nadia poked her little asshole with a nozzle. When it was her turn Patricia took revenge by furiously shoving the hard plastic thing into Nadia’s ass. Nadia didn’t want to disappoint so she pretended to hate this; but in truth she was haughtily indifferent. Patricia’s impotent jabs were nothing compared to the excruciating and glorious penetrations Nadia suffered from Captain De La Peña.

     After the sordid business of enemas was over, the girls returned to the showers for a quick wash-up. They were inspected to make sure they were squeaky clean inside and out; then they were gathered in a column and marched to their final destination—the big room. The door the former gym was unlocked and the blinking prisoners were ushered inside.

     The big hall looked festive. It was awash in bright lights; its walls gleamed with fresh paint; and its recently shampooed carpet was spotless. The biggest distinctive feature of the room, the gallows, was shining with several coats of best varnish.

     The girls were made to form three rows of twelve persons each. The rows were spread out nearly wall to wall, with the distance between neighbors unusually large. This time the order of prisoners was random; and Nadia found herself near the middle of the second row, with Juana Diaz directly in front of her, Katia Jimenez directly behind, and Patricia Abril and Estela Garrido on each side. Patricia was trying to give Nadia an evil eye but Nadia ignored her.

     Commandant De La Peña was already waiting for them, along with all three of his Wardens. Once the prisoners were ready, he started his speech, which was very similar to all the other speeches he ever gave. For a while he paced before the front row, hands behind the back, without saying a word. Abruptly, he declared that war was a harsh business and that it was time for the prisoners to pitch in and help out. He explained the prisoners were expected to start contributing to the war effort. Every one of them had a job to do for their country, particularly for the country’s finest representatives: the armed forces. The girls heard it all before and were still none the wiser to what it actually meant for them.

     Nadia spaced out for a stretch, so it took her a while to realize that she was hearing something else underneath the familiar drone of De La Peña’s voice—something like persistent hum punctuated by occasional rumbles. At first Nadia did not know what the new noise was, then it suddenly came to her: buses! Many buses arriving in the courtyard. Nadia panicked. She remembered all too well what usually happened during such unannounced visits. Soldiers running down the corridors, shooting in all directions, as they took over the prison in the course of yet another coup d’etat. Nadia braced herself, preparing to throw herself at the ground at the first opportunity. But nothing happened. The doors didn’t burst open before screaming and shooting men. There was some screeching of brakes and slamming of doors; then it stopped.

     De La Peña did not appear worried; however, he did cut his speech short and hurriedly left the room, leaving Tatiana in charge. Minutes passed. The girls waited apprehensively. After a while they heard male voices echoing though the corridors. The door opened and De La Peña strode into the room followed closely by an Army Colonel. The voices in the corridors got quite loud but remained behind the doors.

     The Colonel, a grey-haired man dressed in a scruffy field uniform, did not seem to be in the least surprised by rows of naked females. He gave the prisoners a businesslike look-over and started counting them. After he finished with the count he turned to the Commandant.

     "So few?" he demanded. "Where are the rest?"

     "They had to be liquidated," said De La Peña evenly.

     The Colonel raised his eyebrows. "That many perverts?"

     "Yes sir," said the Captain. "We tried to be thorogh."

     The Colonel harrumphed. "Hrrmm. Nice job weeding out the rotten and the corrupt…I suppose. But now we don’t have enough suitable warm bodies. What I see here today is far too few." He scratched his head. "I’ll tell you what. From now on, you are not allowed to let the number of prisoners fall below the current one. Thirty six shall be the absolute minimum population in this prison. That’s an order."

     "Understood," said the Captain.

     An excited murmur rose from the prisoners. No more executions for sure! The Colonel just told the Commandant to keep each of them alive!

     Nadia risked a glance at Tatiana and found her enemy glaring straight at her with barely suppressed fury. Nadia shivered under such gaze; but at the same time both of them knew that no matter how angry Tatiana was, she could not gainsay a direct order from a superior officer. There was nothing she could do to Nadia anymore!

     Nadia sighed with relief. With one less threat hanging over her head, the future suddenly looked a lot brighter.

     "Very well," said Colonel. "Now let’s get on with it." He strode toward the entrance and poked a head outside. "Come on in, boys!"

     At his words a great mass of humanity poured into the hall. The girls watched wide-eyes as dozens and dozens of men began to march through the doors. As they came inside they would rapidly arrange themselves in tight ranks along the farther wall, making way for the new arrivals who kept on coming and coming in a neverending stream. These were obviously soldiers; common soldiers of various grades. It was hard to tell which grades or even which services these men belonged to, as none of them wore a uniform. In fact, they wore nothing at all.

     The girls gaped. Never in their lives had they seen so many hard cocks at the same time.

    

     The soldiers kept on coming in; there were hundreds of them in the room now, and more in the corridors. Some of the men noticed the gallows in the background and gave it a puzzled look. But the great majority had eyes only for the naked women before them. They ogled unabashedly; some even climbed the shoulders of the guys in front of them in order to see better. Nadia couldn’t remember the last time she felt so thoroughly undressed. Despite herself she began to blush. Nor was she alone. Great many prisoners, who thought they were by now used to enforced nudity, wilted with embarrassment under so many male stares. The only girl to show no sign of discomfort from the situation was, predictably, Estela Garrido. The former prostitute looked positively jovial and smiled cheerfully at every man paying her any attention.

     At last the Colonel halted the flow to the disappointment of those still outside. The prisoners were ordered to go down on their hands and knees; suddenly Nadia was grateful for the carpet on the floor. There were no speeches or formal introductions. No need to spell this out—by now the girls understood perfectly well what kind of contribution to the nation’s defense they were expected to make.

     "First rank…assume position!" bellowed the Colonel. Twelve soldiers separated from the mass of their fellows and approached the twelve girls in first row of prisoners. Each man placed himself before the girl of his choice; then, without much warning or ceremony, they seized their girls by the hair and pushed cocks into their mouths.

     The air filled with muffled female cries. This was a new experience for everyone, even such an expert cocksucker as Isabela Aguirre. Isabela was the girl chosen to suck off a guard in the showers on the fateful day of the coup. Now Nadia could see her on the far right of the first row, attempting a gentle tease of a soldier’s cock. The young man would have none of it—he grabbed both of Isabela’s ears and in one fell swoop pushed his cock most of the way into her throat. Isabela gagged and sputtered. Nadia made a mental note to herself: no games.

     "Second rank…assume positions!" A dozen soldiers jogged into the gap between the first and the second row. Nadia, who was in the middle of the second row, watched them run toward her, their cocks bouncing stiffly. She prepared to feel one of these cocks deep in her throat very shortly and even opened her mouth in resigned anticipation. But the men never came near the second row; indeed, they turned their backs to it. After a moment’s confusion Nadia understood. She had to admit it made sense: a woman has two ends and can serve two men at the same time, thus doubling the turnover.

     The soldiers approached the first row of prisoners from behind and went to their knees. The soldiers must have received the lecture about the risk of pregnancies, because each of them placed his cock against the girls’ buttholes. The girls were not aware of this yet; they were exceedingly busy having their mouths stuffed with cock. What came next, came as a great surprise to them. The men’s sexual technique was simple: push hard, and if that does not work, push harder. The muffled cries suddenly got much louder. To say that the girls were uncomfortable was an understatement; but all they could do was squirm and groan incomprehensively. Before too long, each girl had her back entrance forced open. The first row of prisoners had begun their contribution to the war effort.

    For half a minute Nadia watched the girl in front of her, Juana Diaz, being skewered by a soldier. His narrow hairy ass hovered over her smooth broad one; their legs, hers inside, his outside, made a kind of double arch. The arches were connected on top by a straight, thick column of the man’s cock, which began below his dangling sack and quickly disappeared into the girl’s asshole. Below that overstuffed, unnaturally widened hole stretched the dark vertical groove of her empty pussy.

     Nadia’s fascination was interrupted by a command. "Third rank…assume position!" More naked soldiers strode into the gap between the first and the second row. Nadia tried to get a good view of one who was meant to be hers; but she was too low near the floor to see his face well. Then he was right above her, and Nadia lifted her head trying to get a better look. But all she could see was his balls and cock right before her eyes and a little bit of hairy chest in the distance.

     He pushed his cock against her lips and Nadia obligingly opened her mouth. With a violent jerk the soldier thrust himself in, as though he wanted to climb inside her. Nadia gagged and coughed. Helping with the war effort was not going to be easy.

     "Fourth rank…assume position!" Uh-oh. Now came the truly painful part. Nadia could not see the man who took her from behind; she could not turn her head without letting go of the cock in her mouth, and she did not dare to let go. Her first contact with her second lover came when his rough calloused hands grasped her buttocks and spread them like pages in a book. She felt his cock against the sensitive skin around her little butthole. He pushed. She made herself relax. Suddenly he was in; and Nadia clenched her muscles around his cock. It hurt a little; but Nadia’s been in this place before. Her ass has been stuffed repeatedly by bigger cocks than this. After a moment, Nadia felt almost comfortable.

     Nadia’s neighbor to the right, Patricia Abril, was having a much worse experience. Perhaps the man she was dealt was thicker than usual, or perhaps she was just sensitive that way, but the process of insertion was an ordeal, both for her and for the soldier. "Owww, owwww, mmmm-owww!" cried Patricia through the cock in her mouth, as the man behind her tried to force himself past her sphincter. He finally achieved by widening her hole with the help of two fingers. Patricia howled with pain, then kept whimpering, as the cock forced its slow, excruciating way into her rectum.

     While the man in the back was making progress, the man in front felt deprived of attention. He dealt with it by grabbing the girl by the head and shoving his hips forward. Her face slammed into his belly; his cock plunged all the way into her throat. That got her attention all right. The girl blacked out for a second and would’ve fallen over if she wasn’t being held on both sides. The man in front swore: the momentarily unconscious Patricia bit on his cock.

     At that moment Nadia noticed Captain De La Peña standing a short distance away, studying the scene caused by Patricia Abril. In his hands he had a notebook. He looked at Patricia a moment longer and then started to make notes.

     The fifth batch of soldiers was called to duty and then the sixth. Shortly after, the girls in the third row began their service to the Homeland. Nadia could not turn around to look, but she could readily imagine her lovely Katia sandwiched between two soldiers. The image was not unpleasant. Nadia realized that Katia, who was right behind her, must have watched her girlfriend being buttfucked—just like Nadia herself watched Juana Diaz. For some reason the thought made Nadia tingle inside. She hoped Katia enjoyed the view.

     A sudden salty taste on her tongue brought Nadia back to her own situation. The cock in Nadia’s mouth shot its load, and, seconds later, so did the one in her ass. The spent cocks withdrew to be replaced by fresh ones. Lees than a minute of vigorous frictions and these cocks exploded as well, to be replaced in succession by the third, the fourth, the fifth sets… The boys were horny and did not last long, but there were so many of them. After the thirtieth or so set of cocks Nadia had lost count.

     By that point the anal insertion had become completely painless: the semen left behind by earlier cocks served as a pretty good lube. This much semen was a problem though. Nadia was very sure that the Commandant did not want stains on his carpet, so she religiously swallowed all loads deposited in her mouth. However, there was nothing she could do about her ass, which was by now overflowing. Rivers of thick, warm fluid spilled out of Nadia’s anus, oozing down her pussy lips, dripping down her legs, and at last collecting in a puddle on the floor. Nadia saw similar puddles appear under Juana Diaz and other women of the first row. She fervently hoped that they wouldn’t be punished for this. As she watched, the soldier above Juana started to shoot his cum into her ass. Immediately, a fountain of his and other men’s sperm spurted out of her asshole, escaping around the edges of his cock. Nadia didn’t get to see the rest; her vision was blocked as she was forced to suck a new cock.

     The soldiers no longer approached the girls in ranks. A long queue snaked around the room and went out of the doors; once a guy busted his nut, his place was immediately taken by the first in line. Nadia had an impression that most men were going right back at the end of the queue for sloppy seconds. Nadia could not tell what her partners looked like—most of the time she was unable to lift her eyes above their waists—but she was fairly certain she’d recognize a man if he used her a second time. Their attitudes were so amusingly different.

     Some men fucked as if it were military drill. They thrust their cocks into a woman as if they were stabbing her with a bayonet, and they shot their load as though they were shooting bullets. Having defeated the enemy, they marched away. Others were distracted. When two such men met at the opposite ends of the same girl, they would often shake hands over her body and talk about something completely unrelated to sex, even as they pumped the girl silly. Some soldiers were kind and considerate; most were indifferent. A few were deliberately cruel. Nadia sucked a guy who turned out to be such. He wasn’t content with just slapping her face and pulling her hair, all of a sudden he began choking her. Luckily the man came less than a minute later; but even so, by that time Nadia was seeing stars. Patricia Abril was abused even worse. One of the soldiers who fucked her in the ass decided that she wriggled too much. Bending forward, he slammed a fist into her lower stomach, making the girl double in agony. Then he did it again, just to enjoy the sensation of her ass tightening with shock. After that Patricia could not get up from a floor for more than ten minutes.

     Such extreme treatment was uncommon though. Most men were pretty decent, even if not overly concerned with the girls’ welfare. Much to her surprise, Nadia discovered that she didn’t mind being used by them. The idea of serving as a helpless fuck toy for hundreds of soldiers was still horrifying but also perversely exciting. Most of the other girls, aside from Patricia and a handful like her, seemed to feel the same way. And why not? So many eager men with hard, explosive cocks, waiting patiently for their turn to fuck you—what’s not to like? The girls were visibly warming up to their role, going from tolerating the experience to actively enjoying it; and occasional abuses only seemed to stoke the enthusiasm.

      Nadia swallowed the newest sperm deposit, savoring the taste and the texture. The man took off, and, before the next one took his place, Nadia had a momentary view of Juana Diaz’s ass, all drenched in juice and stuffed with fat cock. The girl’s buttcheeks were flushed; Nadia could see that she enjoyed the spitting. Nadia heard a girl at the back moan lustily; that could’ve been Katia. None of them should have taken such pleasure in this—but they did! It occurred to Nadia that this was not an accident.

     Nadia looked around the room. All the women here were survivors—fortunate survivors of a brutal culling process. It seemed random but really wasn’t. Instead, Nadia could see it now, it was deliberately guided by the Commandant and his people. This was the real reason behind the Lesbian witch hunt. The Captain and his team were intentionally selecting for women who enjoyed being with men—and weeding out the others.

     Someone stuck a cock deep into Nadia’s throat. As she massaged the cockhead with her tonsils, Nadia allowed herself to reminisce. She remembered methods used for the weeding: naked corpses dangling inertly above the floor, made faceless by black plastic that encased their heads. All this for a mere kiss, a caress, or even something more innocent. This was the part that irked her, if irked was the right word for what she felt. There used to be one or two hard-core dykes at Santa Margarita, but a great majority of women who ended up hanged for Lesbianism were only curious or frustrated. They weren’t man-haters; they simply lacked sexual outlet. Captain De La Peña must have known this but he did not seem to care. Many women were strung up on a merest shadow of suspicion, because the Captain thought nothing about sending to the noose ten perfectly straight girls as long as there was a possibility that he managed to nail one queer. And, of course, De La Peña’s assistants were corrupt psychos who pursued personal vendettas against prisoners. That hasn’t helped the survival rate either.

     Well, it was over now, this unnatural selection. They overextended, hung too many—the Colonel said so! From now on the number of prisoners was to remain steady. This meant no more executions! Not even one. Nadia herself and other girls who managed to survive—Katia!—from now on had a guarantee of security. She’d laugh with joy if her mouth wasn’t occupied right now. They were safe!

     A string of giggles coming from Nadia’s left side interrupted her ruminations. Nadia shifted her eyes into that direction and saw that the source of hilarity was her neighbor Estela Garrido. The former high-price prostitute was having a time of her life. She no longer stood on all fours like everyone else but instead lay back with legs high in the air. A soldier kneeled between Estela’s thighs, holding her by the calves. Her feet rested on his shoulders and her ass was firmly pressed against his lap. She was as thoroughly impaled on his cock as a turkey on a roaster. Another soldier sat on Estela’s chest, his weight flattening her tits to pancakes. He playfully slapped his cock on her lips and nose, and the giggles were directed at him. Behind the trio, unnoticed by them, Captain De La Peña was writing something in his notebook.

     The man who sat on Estela’s chest stopped the giggles by dipping his cock into her mouth. Estela expertly enveloped both cock and balls and turned on the suction, while at the same time worming a finger into his ass.

The poor slob was not equipped to withstand such an assault. Mere seconds later he ejected his load in several great spurts, his body shaking as if in fever. Squeezed dry at last, he lurched to his feet. Estela caught his eye, gave him a bright spermy smile, and ostentatiously licked her dirty finger. Captain De La Peña stopped writing for a moment, studied Estela face, then added another note.

     Nadia’s hands and knees ached from standing in the same position for hours. She decided that it was time to imitate Estela Garrido and lie down, and if they punish her for that, so be it. Nadia waited until both her holes were temporarily free of foreign objects, then rapidly spun around and dropped on her back. Estela noticed Nadia’s maneuver and winked at her. Just then an especially big and hairy solder lifted Nadia by the ankles and bent her backwards until her body was folded in two, with her knees next to her ears. Without giving her time to get used to this position he speared her ass all the way to the balls.

     Another soldier squatted over Nadia’s face. In a moment his cock was lodged deep in her throat. Nadia couldn’t help but make involuntary swallowing motions. The man had a long cock but he made it completely disappear in Nadia’s mouth. His balls rested on her nose; his pubic hair tickled her chin. This was less than comfortable for Nadia; so to hurry him along she tried Estela’s finger-in-the-ass gambit. The soldier immediately slapped away her hand but nevertheless started to ejaculate. Nadia swallowed the jizz, then took a deep breath. She tried to catch Estela’s eye again but her neighbor was busy servicing yet another pair of men. One of them sat on her face, which, Nadia knew by now, was not easy for a woman. Estela showed no signs of discomfort. Nadia saw that now there was a whole separate line of men, all of whom were waiting for their turn with Estela.

     Now that’s a real pro, thought Nadia. No one knew better than Estela how to satisfy a horny mob; and no one loved it more. She was always like this. Back in the days when other girls tried hard to avoid being fucked by the guards Estela happily volunteered. Nadia used to think it strange. The guards were rude, uncouth, and often drunk; they would make you suck their dicks or take you in the ass. Nadia found them revolting and could not understand why Estela enjoyed being used in this way. And now Nadia herself was used much worse by hordes of rude, uncouth, and very likely drunk soldiers—and she was happy with it! I had turned into Estela Garrido, Nadia thought. How did that happen?

     For some reason Nadia felt the need to seek out the Commandant. He moved since the last Nadia saw him; he was no longer watching Estela but instead stood behind Veronica Ribas in the third row, frowning and writing something into his notebook. Beyond him loomed the gallows: empty, silent, ominous. This juxtaposition—the gallows, with austere Captain, and the pornographic spectacle of naked women buggered by soldiers, cum flying in all direction—gave Nadia her answer. It was Captain De La Peña who changed her, changed them all. Using a blunt but effective tool—a credible threat of humiliating death in the noose—he brought to surface something dark but exhilarating. When a girl could be killed any day, it gave her powerful thirst for life’s pleasures at their most extreme. And when she was denied even the most basic sexual release, her darkest desires were bound to break through…

     Nadia felt a painful pinch on her ass; a reminder not to get distracted. She complied with alacrity. It was getting late. The crowds were visibly thinner; most of the soldiers had already left. In the courtyard outside an engine would wake to life, then grow fainter with distance; another bus departing. A man was watching Nadia, has been doing that for a long time. This guy did not look like other soldiers. He was a short, balding man in his fifties; likely a civilian, perhaps a driver or a cook. His status was obviously low; all evening he was being mercilessly shoved aside by military types. But he waited patiently and watched Nadia like a hawk.

    The hairy soldier, after laboring in Nadia’s ass for seemingly an hour, had finally shot his rather modest load. It must have been his third or fourth today. He lingered inside Nadia, enjoying the last of the treat. Finally he withdrew his cock and ambled to the exit, walking funnily as if his balls were hurting him. Nadia remained momentarily alone. The puny bald man seized the opportunity and sprung toward her. Of the two available holes he selected the rear one. Nadia chortled dismissively as he poked his tiny pecker into her ass. But a second later her smirk faltered; and in another second her face assumed a stunned expression. The man who mounted Nadia was short, bony, and old; his face was ugly as ape’s; his cock laughably small. Yet for all drawbacks of his age and appearance, he had one advantage. He knew something about women.

     For hours, Nadia had her ass plumbed by an uncounted number of cocks. She was thoroughly used to this by now; she even found it an arousing experience. Having her rectum filled with man-meat felt so natural that she forgot about her other hole. But the little man remembered.

     He was forbidden to stuff his cock into a pussy…but he was free to use his fingers. And he knew how to use them. He quickly found the clit, and Nadia’s breath caught short. His digits were soft, warm, and insistent. As he caressed the clit with one finger, he used the other four fingers of the same hand to penetrate the cavern. Nadia reflexively moved her body closer to him, impaling herself even deeper both on his fingers and on his cock. No longer had that thing in her ass seemed so ridiculous; on the contrary, now it felt wonderful to hold it within her body. Suddenly the room got hot. Nadia’s womb melted; warm juice poured down her inner thighs, washing away crusted cum of many men. Her nipples got warm and heavy; soon they felt as if they were about to explode. As if he read her mind, the little man reached up and squeezed a nipple, making Nadia gasp with pleasure. The sound attracted the attention of Captain De La Peña and his notebook, and for a while Nadia desperately tried to suppress her reactions. Who knew what the prison Commandant would make of them? But she could not resist for long. She could not help but voice her lust.

     The small man was pumping Nadia’s ass and stroking her pussy at the same time. One moment he gently nipped and at tugged at Nadia’s clit and the sensitive flesh around it; the next he pushed most of his fist into her vagina and turned his arm this way and that, giving Nadia an exquisite internal massage. Faster and faster he went, driving the girl with him. For someone so scrawny he had a remarkable amount of energy; yet so far he showed no sign of ejaculating. Being older, he could control such things. Nadia squirmed and moaned under his touch. Her vaginal muscles stiffened around his hand; even her asshole, loosened by so many cocks, was back to its original tightness. Feeling himself squeezed, the man buried himself deeper in Nadia’s ass, and this simple motion brought her over the edge.

     "I am coming," whispered Nadia. Unable to contain the feeling, she cried out at the top of her lungs, "Oh God!!!" Nadia’s voice echoed around the room. Her voice echoed from the walls, and, as if by an unspoken command, every head in the room snapped toward her. Nadia saw the Captain lift his pen and start making a long entry in his notebook. Nadia wanted to bite her tongue; she did not mean to bring attention to herself in this way. But any control she had over her actions was gone, and her fear only added the excitement. The man was cumming in her ass. His every spurt reverberated in her bowels, causing warm and sticky orgasmic waves that made Nadia shudder in ecstasy and expel air in loud screams of pleasure…

     It took a full minute for Nadia’s head to clear. Nadia’s ass and pussy were now empty; the little man was gone and the wonderful sensations he created for Nadia were only memories. But the screams continued. For one single confusing moment Nadia thought that it was she who still screamed, that her loss of control was worse that she thought. Then she realized that the voice she was hearing, though very familiar, was not her own. All heads were still turned in one direction; however, this time they weren’t looking at Nadia but somewhere behind her. Captain De La Peña no longer paid Nadia any attention but instead focused on the same spot as everybody else, while furiously adding notes. Nadia turned around to see for herself.

     It was Katia, of course. Nadia recognized that voice even before she looked. And, from certain cadences and overtones in the voice of a woman she knew so well, Nadia had a fair idea of what was going on. Peeking back only confirmed her guess: Nadia’s girlfriend was in the middle of a massive orgasm.

    

     Katia was being fucked in the ass.  Her cheeks were flushed; sweat poured down her back. Her eyes blazed, as she emitted high, hoarse screeches in time with anal thrusts. Her buttocks clenched and unclenched involuntarily around the hard meat. Nadia looked at the man who had succeeded in unlocking such passion and was surprised to see that he wasn’t a talented operator like the one who just gave Nadia such a great time but only an average clueless young soldier. The boy kept his hands at his sides as he sluggishly pumped Katia’s ass. He looked as bewildered as anyone at the wild reaction his desultory plumbing job seemed to produce. He certainly wasn’t doing anything different than dozens of men before him. It must have been that his cock, like the proverbial last straw that broke the camel’s back, woke up something within Katia. Nadia marveled: her friend had just become one of the rare women able to experience purely anal orgasms.

     When he was close to completion, the soldier decider to switch positions and complete his job into Katia’s opposite hole. He did not budge himself but instead turned the girl around. Or rather, he nudged her lightly and Katia instantly whirled back. He placed the tip of his cock on her tongue; she immediately gulped down the whole shaft. The screams had stopped, but Katia’s orgasm did not subside. Instead, it blossomed. Katia trembled from neck to toes as if possessed; torrents of juice ran between her legs. She grasped fistfuls of carpet and made a good attempt at tearing them out. Nadia felt a stab of jealousy. In all the months of their relationship, no matter how gentle and skillful she was, only once or twice did she manage to bring her lover to such condition. But here apparently all it took was a simple ass-to-mouth maneuver.

     The intensity of orgasm made Katia slightly crazy—now the girl was literally trying to ingest the meat. It was as though Katia tried to swallow the man whole, starting with his cock. She stuffed as much of him in her mouth as could fit; and then she stuffed more. She choked; she gurgled and coughed; but she pushed herself further and further. She wasn’t doing that just to please him; her frenzy drove her on and on. Soon the guy’s whole length disappeared in Katia’s maw; but she still wasn’t satisfied. She caught his balls with her tongue and guided them to her lips. A moment of incredible suction—and the balls were inside as well. Captain De La Peña nodded to himself and added a sentence to his report.

     The soldier could not withstand such furious assault. He growled, the only visible sign that he was coming. The sperm disappeared down Katia’s gullet without ever seeing the light of day. Katia’s body shook as her orgasm spent itself in random convulsions, and Nadia became afraid that her girlfriend would bite the guy’s manhood right off. Instead Katia went glassy-eyed and slack-jawed. The soldier, too, stood stock still and stared straight ahead as if in a daze. Katia let the balls fall out of her mouth; but the cock stayed, shrinking gradually. Suddenly the man woke up, quickly pulled out his still half-erect member, and beat a hasty retreat. It took Katia longer to come to her senses. She slowly closed her mouth, dribbling saliva on her tits; blinked a few times; then abruptly noticed the attention and turned bright red.

     Nadia smiled at Katia, who gratefully smiled back. The stares Katia got from the other girls were more amazed than friendly. The girls had the freedom to look around, since most of them, Nadia included, had nothing to do. The queue of men was no more, as most of them had left long ago. The few remaining soldiers kept only a handful of prisoners still occupied.

     A soldier finished his business into poor Patricia Abril’s much mutilated asshole. He slapped the girl for a good measure; then withdrew, leaving her muttering in acute discomfort. Nadia looked up at the high round windows under the ceiling. It was dark outside. Nadia stretched and yawned. This was a long day and Nadia felt tired as a dog. But she didn’t mind this kind of exhaustion. She had more cock today than in all of her life up to now! It felt surprisingly good to be ridden by so many men, to get them to blow their hot loads inside her. If only one of them, just one, was allowed to stretch her pussy…

     The very last soldier jerked off his final drops onto Isabela Aguirre’s tongue, then promptly left. The Colonel was gone shortly afterward, immediately followed by Tatiana. Many girls got to their feet preparing to depart as well, but the order never came. They waited. The Commandant did not appear to be in any hurry, nor did he consider it necessary to volunteer any information.

     Tatiana returned half an hour later with more guards in tow. The girls wondered at that. They only had time to raise their eyebrows and shrug at each other when they heard noises from outside. First came the familiar wooshing sound of arriving buses. It was followed by a deafening roar that shook the walls and startled the prisoners, and that marked the arrival of heavy troop carriers. After a minute the corridors rumbled with stomping of many feet. The door opened, admitting the same Colonel who supervised the earlier proceedings. He looked a little tired; but sharp; and he changed into a fresh uniform. However, the men who entered after him had no uniforms at all.

     Nadia sighed and shook her head. This was looking to be a long, arduous night…

PART 6

     The days that followed were an easy time. The prisoners, who had become useful participants in the national defense effort, were treated better than ever and even allowed a small measure of freedom. They ate well, took long hot showers, slept when they wanted. Physical work was no longer required of them; there was nothing to do but to rest and relax.

     Most girls agreed that occasional mass gang-bang was not such a high price to pay for these luxuries. To be sure, there was some suffering. Patricia Abril’s ass had hurt for days. Anabela Cervantes and Francisca Pons got upset stomachs from all the sperm they had to swallow. Silvia Munoz got all teared up one morning, claiming emotional damage from rape and abuse. She was better by breakfast.

     On the opposite end of the spectrum was a small group of girl who couldn’t wait for the soldiers’ next visit. The chief among those was, naturally, Estela Garrido. The wacky woman spent all her time reminiscing about, as she put it, "the night of glorious buttfucking." She would tell and retell every episode with all its gory details to anyone who would listen. During especially piquant moments her eyes would mist over and her pussy visibly moisten.

     Katia Jimenez was another enthusiastic member. She wasn’t as talkative about it, but Nadia knew how much her friend was looking forward to the soldiers’ return. This was not surprising. In the course of that night Katia had no less than four of those remarkable near-death orgasmic experiences. She was understandably eager to repeat them.

     Nadia’s own feelings were somewhere between the two extremes. Taking hundreds of cocks down the throat and up the ass was unpleasant, humiliating experience. On the other hand, Nadia found that she already missed the taste of sperm on her tongue. And the anal penetrations, aside from the painful first hour, were not all that uncomfortable. Nadia learned that with a right stimulation they could even give pleasure. As for humiliation, Nadia cared little about it. Prison life had stripped her long ago of any possible dignity.

     The best part about this situation, though, was the halt in arbitrary executions. Even those who complained about mistreatment had welcomed this new sense of security. A girl of Santa Margarita could be a mere sex toys whose mouth and asshole belonged to the state; on the other hand, she could no longer be strung up like a dog for no reason at all. She was somebody; she was needed; she had a role to play. She could not be killed at a drop of a head. No matter how badly she was abused and humiliated by horny soldiers, still it wasn’t as painful or as degrading —or as deadly!—as the slow asphyxiation in the noose. A night of submission and occasional rough treatment was worth not having to wonder if you’d end the day dangling by the neck.

     Even a rather blatant display of Lesbianism no longer seemed to be the sufficient grounds for punishment. This point was brought home by an incident in the showers that happened about a week after the soldiers’ visit. It started when Alita Lopez asked Francisca Pons to help her wash her hair. Alita had a gorgeous mane of long black hair that she was justly proud of. It was so long that it was hard for her to wash it alone, so she had to ask her friend Francisca to come to her aid. In return to helping her wash the hair Alita scrubbed Francisca’s back. Chatting happily, the girls continued to bathe each other. Francisca rubbed soap on Alita’s belly and tits and in her turn Alita lathered Francisca’s butt. The friends were carried away by their discussion and did not think what they were doing. Only when Alita pushed her soapy hand between Francisca thighs and started to wash her down there, did the girls realize that they had crossed a line. Alita instantly pulled her hand but by then it was too late. They were seen. Ines Santana, who sat in a chair near the door, got up and left the steamy room, clearly to bring the Commandant down on them. Alita and Francisca started to weep, overwhelmed by the enormity of their error. They knew that what they’ve done was a hanging offense. Other girls shifted uncomfortably in their stalls. Everyone fully expected to see Francisca and Alita hoisted up right here in the showers, before they even had a chance to dry off. A minute later the door opened again, and the girls braced for an invasion of guards, led as usual in such cases by Captain De La Peña himself. But to everybody’s surprise, it was only Ines Santana, alone and looking unhappy. Grumbling, she plopped into her chair and gestured to the girls to finish their bath. This was the clearest demonstration to date that the days of willy-nilly hangings were truly over.

     The prisoners were ecstatic about their newfound freedom. That night Nadia was tempted to make love to Katia like in the old days. She could see in her friend’s eyes that Katia wouldn’t mind resuming the affair. Driven by a powerful impulse, Nadia came very close to crawling over to Katia’s bed and diving into her expectant arms; but an inborn cautiousness prevented her from going through with this.

     Next morning, right after breakfast, the guards started distributing enemas. The time has come for the prisoners to fulfill their duty once again.

     The big room had been tidied up since the last week. Most of the stains on the carpet had been removed, and there was a faint lemony smell in the air left behind by the cleaning solution. Otherwise, the place looked much like a week ago: empty, except for the gallows, which crouched in the background, still sinister but abandoned and impotent.

     The prisoners, arranged in rows, waited apprehensively. Before long, noises from outside announced the arrival of today’s party. Rumbling of engines; screeching of brakes; slamming of doors; a male voice barking something incomprehensible and being answered with booming laughter. The sound of engines was mostly subdued growl rather than thunderous roar, which suggested that this time the majority of the incoming vehicles were cars rather than trucks or buses.

     Commandant De La Peña entered the room in the company with the familiar Colonel. Behind them trailed a mob of naked young men. The Colonel and the Captain conversed in quiet tones, as the boys massed in front of the room. In a few minutes everyone was inside.

     The soldiers were far fewer than a week ago—they all fit within without anyone remaining in the corridors. When the men saw the girls they whistled and smacked their lips in appreciation. Nadia felt a number of them ogling her body. Embarrassed, and yet basking in their attention, she studied them in turn. These soldiers had a different quality about them. They were more uniform in age; largely in their early twenties. They knew each other well. In general, they looked a bit more refined than the riff-raff than filled the room last week. Nadia easily recognized the type. These were the guys she used to date before she was arrested: cadets and junior officers just out of the academy.

     The Colonel in charge ordered his troops to get ready. There was no need; the men were more then ready. Each of them already sported a beautiful hard-on. The Colonel approached the first row of prisoners and stopped in front of the rightmost girl, Barbara Alvarez. He made a gesture and Barbara went down on her hands and knees. Two young lieutenants at once separated from the crowd and jogged toward Barbara. Without delay, they mounted her on either end. In the meantime, the Colonel ordered down the second prisoner, Isabela Aguirre. The next two men were already at his side. Even before Isabela’s knees touched the floor she was impaled by two cocks.

     The Colonel stopped before the third girl, whose name was Violeta Barcelo. Before the man had time to give a signal, Violeta went to her knees. The Colonel shook his head, lifted the girl by the arm, and ordered her to wait. A moment later Wardens Vea and Santana took Violeta out of formation and ushered her out of the room. The Colonel carried on with inspection. As he strolled along the front row, several more girls were selected to taken outside, leaving behind gaps among the prisoners. Monica Cubero was chosen…then Alita Lopez of the beautiful long hair…and the little shy Sara Gomez… and Juana Diaz who was right in front of Nadia. Eventually the Colonel came to the end of the first row and continued to the second—Nadia’s row.

     Before long the he reached Nadia’s immediate neighbor, the dark-skinned Patricia Abril with her sensitive ass. He paused to think, then shrugged and gestured her to get down. After only a moment of delay she did as she was told. A baby-faced cadet materialized behind her; and, without losing any time, drove his thick member into her open asshole. Patricia cursed and angrily slapped the young man’s leg. Oblivious to her reaction, he only thrust deeper. Tears sprayed out of Patricia’s eyes. She started to howl in pain; but before she actually got a chance to get out a sound, her open mouth was plugged by another cock.

     All this took place during the Colonel’s short walk toward Nadia. A moment later he was in front of her, and Nadia could no longer pay attention to Patricia Abril. The Colonel studied Nadia’s face for a few seconds. Then he visually examined her breasts, stomach, and legs. Deep in thought, he stared at her crotch. Finally, having arrived at a decision, he nodded to himself. He looked past Nadia at someone behind her back and made a beckoning gesture. One of the waiting Wardens promptly appeared from behind. She took Nadia by the shoulder and escorted her out of the door.

     Nadia found herself in the dimly lit corridor outside the gym. The prisoners selected by the Colonel sat in a row along the wall, their bare asses resting on dusty linoleum. Three silent guards stood watch over them. The Warden led Nadia to the end of the row and made her sit down. She returned to the room but reappeared a moment later with Estela Garrido in tow. The Warden deposited Estela next to Nadia and retreated back where she came from. As time went by, more prisoners were added to the lineup. Every time the door opened to admit another prisoner, one could hear muffled male grunts and female moans coming from the other side. Estela Garrido listened hungrily to the noises, licking her lips or sometimes rubbing her cunt. Then the door would be shut and the sounds would fade. Estela would sigh and hang her head, dejected at having been left out of the fun.

     Having nothing better to do, Nadia counted the girls. Eleven…twelve…The door opened again and now there were thirteen… Nadia could not help but notice that the selected girls tended to be young and pretty, or else unusually proficient or passionate in sex. Nadia was flattered to be included in such company, and at the same time nervous as hell.

     The door was slammed open once more, as the fourteenth girl was marched out of the gym. Nadia was alarmed to see that the newcomer had been none other than her friend Katia Jimenez. Alarmed but not surprised; in Nadia’s (possibly biased) opinion Katia was the most beautiful woman in Santa Margarita. And, given Katia’s newfound fame as the orgasm queen, it made sense that she was chosen.

     "This is the last one," declared Ines Santana as she pushed forward the disoriented Katia. She scowled at the sitting girls. "Quit relaxing! Get up and get going."

      The prisoners were herded through a normally off-limits passageway, beyond which lay long sterile corridors with numerous, regularly spaced doorways along one side.  Nadia alone knew where they were. She had been here before; the only prisoner to have done so—or at least the only one to have done so without ending up in the noose. When Santa Margarita was still a school this was the study quarters; the doorways along the walls led into disused classrooms. Now this area was a part of the prison’s administrative wing; Nadia had passed here many times on her way to the Commandant’s office somewhere on the floor above.

     For one wild moment Nadia wished to be taken there once again. She fervently desired to be used by the Captain as he used her before, even if she had to share him this time with thirteen other girls. But De La Peña’s office was not their destination. Instead of going up the stairs the girls were made to go down.

     The prisoners heard the voices even before they see their owners. A group of men was coming up the stairway, their conversation preceding them. The voices drew nearer, and a moment later the men stepped onto a landing. The girls stopped, watching the newcomers warily.

     These men were different from those that prisoners saw before. They were hard-faced, tough looking gentlemen ranging in age between twenty five and forty-five. They were not naked at all, but fully dressed in gorgeous parade uniforms. The Colonel in charge came to the front and saluted the newcomers warmly: those were his fellow officers.

     The men ceased talking when they saw the women; some chuckled in approval of bare female flesh but most just stared intently; a very different reaction from the raucous welcome the girls got from the younger soldiers. Nadia counted the men. There were only nineteen of them, or slightly more than one man per girl. At first blush it sounded as a better situation compared to being pounded all night by hundreds of cocks. Nadia wasn’t so sure about that. These were officers—men who were used to being obeyed. Also, they were older and more experienced, which could mean perverted in some particularly unpleasant ways.

     The familiar Colonel was the most senior officer here. In addition to him, there were a couple of Lieutenant Colonels, a handful of Majors, and a dozen or so of Captains. Nadia hadn’t seen any of them before. Most officers were Army but some were Navy or Military Police.

     One Captain was staring straight at Nadia. She glanced toward him in return—and froze with fear. The man’s face was terrifyingly cruel, but the scariest thing about him were his eyes. They were colorless, dead, and unblinking; and they were fixed right on Nadia. He was watching her as predator watches his dinner. Nadia promptly averted her eyes and tried hard not to look in that direction. But even without looking she could feel the man’s icy stare on her skin.

     The Colonel dismissed Warden Santana and the guards. Nadia naively assumed that the officers would immediately undress and start fucking the girls right here in the stairwell. Instead, the prisoners were taken to a dead-end corridor with doors on either side. They were given to understand that fucking itself would transpire behind closed doors: unlike the lower ranks, officers were entitled to privacy. But first, the available pussy would have to be distributed among the men.

     Since he outranked everyone else here, the Colonel had the right to the first pick. And what’s more, he was so important that he got to pick not one but two girls all for himself. He promptly selected two top beauties of the flock, Alita Lopez and Katia Jimenez, then yielded his place to the next officer. The second in line was a Navy officer with the rank of Frigate Captain, which was just a shade below the rank of Colonel, as Nadia understood such things. Apparently he was important as well and also entitled to two girls. Without hesitation he chose Monica Cubero, then paused in thought, looking back and forth between Nadia and Juana Diaz.

     Suddenly another officer stepped forward. He firmly pushed the Navy man aside and said, pointing at Nadia, "I’ll take that one." Nadia’s stomach lurched: this was the same scary Captain whose eyes all this time drilled holes in her skin. His voice a flat raspy monotone, sinister like the rest of him. There was nothing in the world Nadia wanted less than being taken by this man. But wait a minute, wasn’t this man only a Captain, the most junior rank here? Who did he think he was, jumping the line like that?

     One close look and Nadia had the answer. The man wore a little golden shield on his sleeve, the insignia of the dreaded Internal Security Forces. This Captain, though formally inferior in rank, was the most powerful man in the room. With a snap of a finger he could end careers and ruin lives; no wonder he felt free to do whatever he wished.

     Fortunately, the old sailor was not so easily intimidated. He defiantly stepped in front of the security man and growled, "No! She is mine!" He grabbed Nadia by the wrist and forcibly pulled her to himself, almost dislocating her shoulder. Never in her life was Nadia so grateful to a man who treated her so rudely.

    The security Captain narrowed his eyes at the adversary. Nadia had a distinct impression that he was about to pull a gun and shoot both the sailor and her. Just then, the Colonel intervened. "Let it be, Adrian," he said placatingly. "General Vilareal will be very unhappy if we quarrel over some whore."

     The Captain appeared to be deep in thought. The Colonel licked his lips nervously. Even he, a senior officer, was afraid of the security man. The Frigate Captain was silent too, looking truculently from underneath his bushy eyebrows. Only Nadia knew just how tense he was: he was gripping her shoulder so powerfully that he stopped the circulation in her arm. At last the Captain spoke. "Fine," he said in a voice marginally more grating than usual. "He can keep her. But I choose the next two." The Colonel breathed easily. This compromise was acceptable.

     The Security Captain named Adrian picked Juana Diaz and Sara Gomez. The distribution of the other women among the rest of the officers went smoothly enough. Every Lieutenant Colonel, every Major, and a few especially favored Captains got one girl each. After they were finished, there were only three girls were left, and the remaining Captains had to share them. But there was no need to feel badly for these men. One of the three women was the insatiable Estela Garrido who alone was more than a match for a whole regiment.

     The gallant mariner led Nadia and Monica to one of the empty classrooms. Nadia looked around. Faded portraits of classical writers hung on the walls—the kids must’ve studied literature here. Three or four broken chairs stood forlornly toward the back of the room. That was it: desks, bookcases, and any other usable furniture was looted long ago. However, very recently, no earlier than last week, someone brought here a large mattress. It lay in the middle of the room like a rectangular beached whale. Nadia was relieved to see that it was covered with threadbare but clean quilt blanket.

     The old seawolf lost no time; he undressed himself in seconds, military-style. Nadia and Monica did not need to undress as they were naked to begin with. The man placed them side by side on the mattress, on their hands and knees, facing the wall. He started with a session of painful but invigorating hard spanking. One girl, then the other jerked and whimpered every time a horny, calloused hand connected with her bottom. For a while, the room was filled with the sound of slaps and high female yelps.

     By the time spanking stopped Nadia’s ass was the color of strawberries and as hot to the touch as a stove. On the positive side, her circulation was definitely restored. Now the man took to poking his fingers into the girl’s random holes, which wasn’t as much painful as it was jarring. He mainly worked on widening the sphincters; but sometimes his finger brushed a clit or stumbled upon the G-spot, which felt very nice. Eventually Nadia sensed his cock pushing against the entrance to her asshole. That was a relief, she was starting to think it would never happen. So, Nadia relaxed and let him in.

     His cock slowly moved forward, stretching Nadia’s hole, filling her with the familiar sensation of fullness and warmth. For a moment all was well with the world. But just when Nadia was skewered the deepest he abruptly withdrew, leaving her ass empty and gaping. Nadia cried out in disappointment—and was shortly seconded by Monica, who was making sounds because the man was forcing himself between her cheeks.

     For the next ten minutes the sailor took turns dunking his cock into the two available holes. A quick penetration, a few thrusts, and suddenly he was off to dip his shaft into the next girl’s waiting ass. Nadia hated these abrupt extractions that left her so empty and frustrated. But he was always back, violating her, filling her, tormenting her anew with the exquisite pleasure of anal entry.

     In the end he decided to stay with Nadia. Nadia’s mood soared when she realized that he was not going away. Like a powerful ship engine he pounded her willing ass until he worked them into a lather. At the point of the deepest penetration he stopped, and all of a sudden Monica’s face was between Nadia’s thighs. Monica sucked his balls, and Nadia’s could feel the girl’s chin rubbing rhythmically against her pussy. The man withdrew his cock out of Nadia’s ass. She heard slurping sounds, and then the cock was driven back into its place.

     Minutes passed. Now the man was ready to cum. Before he did he grabbed a fistful of Nadia’s hair and pulled it back, forcing her to raise her head. On the wall above her she caught sight of a row of men in old-fashioned costumes watching with distaste the orgy below. She recognized them. These were classical writers—Cervantes, Lope De Vega, and others—whose portraits adorned the classroom. Nadia mentally apologized to them. At this very moment the man who was fucking her gave her a mighty smack on the ass. Nadia’s anal muscles contracted involuntarily, pushing him over the edge. Nadia felt her ass being filled with rivers of cum, as she gazed guiltily into Don Cervantes’ disapproving eyes.

     The sailor let go of Nadia’s hair and retreated from her butt. Some of his jizz dripped out. Naturally, Monica was obliged to lick it off. This gave the man an idea. With his cock out of commission for a while, he ordered a session of girl-on-girl action.

     Nadia didn’t even like Monica Cubero all that much. But prisoners do what they are told, so Nadia obediently pressed her lips against Monica’s mouth and gave her a French kiss. Monica promptly pushed her tongue, still coated in cum, deep down Nadia’s throat. The officer gave another command, and Nadia found herself kissing Monica’s other lips. Even though Nadia enjoyed this very little, she honestly tried; but despite her best efforts Monica was as responsive as a sack of potatoes. The girls simply didn’t click.

     Still, the job had to be done; so to try and inflame a missing enthusiasm Nadia imagined she was making love to Katia. But Monica’s pussy was nothing like Katia’s. The lips were too meaty; the clit too small; the snatch was the wrong shape and tasted oddly, too. All Nadia achieved was getting upset. She wished her friend was really here.

     Unbeknownst to Nadia, Katia was having a similar experience. After the Colonel came into Alita Lopez’s mouth, he put her on top of Katia in the 69 position and made them eat each other’s twats. They had to do it for over an hour. All that time Alita kept making little disgusted sounds, pushing Katia, pinching and biting her on vulnerable parts; and in general expressing her revulsion every chance she got. The only escape for Katia was her imagination; just like Nadia pictured Katia in place of another girl, Katia was thinking about Nadia. One thought, one cherished hope sustained the separated lovers as they went through the motions of sex. They dreamed that the next time the Colonel, or the Frigate Captain, or some other important officer, will choose both of them together and let them fulfill their most intimate desire—make love to each other without the fear of punishment…

     Nadia had to wake up from her pleasant dreams because the man said something. Apparently it was a command to switch places. Nadia lied down on her back and spread her legs. Monica turned around and slid down Nadia’s body; then, with a marked lack of enthusiasm, stuck her tongue into Nadia’s cunt. Laboring hard to simulate passion, Nadia emitted several fake moans. Monica responded in kind. Meanwhile, the old seawolf pulled on his cock and at the same time regaled the girls with tales of naval derring-do, emphasizing high points by slapping Monica’s rump.

     These reminiscences, more than anything else, had gradually brought the sailor’s mast back to life. The girls were too busy to notice that at first; but the man wasn’t shy about letting his wishes known. Once he was ready he gave a clear hint of what he wanted to do next. Nadia lay on her back, eyes closed, receiving Monica’s desultory attention, when something hard and meaty pushed against her lips. She opened her mouth and was instantly forced to swallow the full length of a fresh erection. From this Nadia gathered that the man wanted to fuck her face.

     And a serious fucking it was—the sailor pumped Nadia’s throat as though it was vagina. No one ever did it to her, not even Captain De La Peña. On the conscious level, she didn’t like this much. She kept gagging, which made her short of breath; her vision swam for the lack of oxygen; and, on top of that, her tonsils were bruised with constant pummeling. And yet her pussy was dripping with juice, to Monica’s total disgust. Orgasmic waves went up and down Nadia’s stomach. Despite all the discomfort, her body responded to sex—any form of sex. Even if it was as brutal as this.

     Suffering badly but helpless with desire for more, Nadia remembered De La Peña’s words. "She worships cock," he said on that fateful night when he almost hanged her. Now Nadia understood the depth of his insight. She loved cocks. She welcomed anything done to her with a cock. No matter how many of them there were; no matter which hole and how deep; no matter if it was killing her.

     For a mercy, the sailor stopped fucking Nadia before she threw up or passed out. But he did not do it to give Nadia a break, he simply remembered Monica. Now it was the other girl’s turn to wheeze and gag. Nadia’s job was easy: she was giving the man’s balls a tongue bath. The sailor started to sing his favorite war songs. After a moment he ordered Monica to sing with him; but, of course, all she could manage was "mmm-mm" and "glug-glug". The man found this incredibly hilarious.

     Another switch. The officer decided that he wanted to fuck Nadia’s face once again; so she lay on her back with her head hanging off the mattress’s edge and accepted a shaft up her throat. There were noises coming from the next room; but Nadia was too busy trying to catch a breath to pay them any heed. She knew that the cock in her mouth was about to explode. So many men squirted their loads down her throat that by now she could easily predict the exact moment. The trick was to prepare in time. Most men liked to stick their rods all the way in as they shot their wad. Nadia took a deep breath through her nose and braced herself. Sure enough: the next second the sailor, using his own weight as the leverage, drove himself half way down Nadia’s stomach. The root of his cock throbbed between her jaws; she could already taste a faint flavor of pre-cum. "Here it comes," she thought.

     Just then a woman screamed. It was a high, hysterical shriek full of fear, and it came from behind the wall. There were more sounds: a patter of bare feet, a stomp of a boot, an enraged male voice. Something fell, somebody cursed… The sailor reacted with lightning speed. Before Monica or Nadia were even able to move a muscle, he was ready and moving. One moment he was on the threshold of coming; the next, his dick popped out of Nadia’s mouth like a cork out of a Champaign bottle. He ejaculated anyway; he was too far gone not to. But even as his dick spewed semen all over Nadia’s face, his mind was already elsewhere. In a true military fashion he went for his weapon first. Then, stark naked, with his cock still erect and dripping, he ran out of the door.

     Nadia and Monica looked at each other. Monica shrugged, then turned around and followed the officer. Nadia wiped a gob of sperm out of her eye and followed Monica.

     The corridor was already filled with men and women. They all looked in one direction. Prevented by wide backs of the officers in front of her, Nadia couldn’t see what everyone was staring at. She squeezed between the men, brushing past their hairy nude bodies. Once in front of the circle of spectators, Nadia finally saw the object of the scrutiny. It was a girl, alone and not looking so well. It took Nadia a second to recognize her: this was Juana Diaz.

     Juana showed no awareness of being the center of attention. She leaned against the wall, pressing herself into it as though trying to become a part of plaster. She was shaking all over. Her eyes were wild and unseeing; her hair disheveled. Her lips were moving but no sound escaped.

     Captain De La Peña pushed through the crowd with Ines Santana and Bianca Vea on his heels. "Prisoner Diaz," he asked in a level tone. "What is the meaning of this?" Hearing his voice Juana broke down. She emitted a kind of muffled wail and slowly slid to the floor. Hiding her face in her hands, she started to weep.

     "Women," said one of the officers. "They always cry for no reason." The men laughed. Commandant De La Peña didn’t even smile. He took a step toward the sobbing girl and lifted her by the elbow. "Was it you who screamed just now?" he asked her. She gave a slight nod. "Report," said the Commandant.

     Juana tried to speak. "I…We…It’s" She gave a loud sob, then took control of herself. Haltingly, she continued. "Captain Martinez," she said. Martinez must have been the name of the scary Internal Security Captain who chose Juana Diaz and Sara Gomez as his fuck toys. "He tied Sara up and told her to wait. Then he told me to suck him off. I started sucking. He put a rope around my neck. For teasing, he said. Be a good girl, he said. I sucked for a long time. Then I got tired. He said I was a bad girl. Very bad. And then he squeezed the rope."

     Without thinking Juana touched her throat. Her hand parted the curtain of her hair, and Nadia saw an angry red welt going all the way around her neck. "I didn’t expect he would do that." the girl said. "I couldn’t breathe. He squeezed more. It hurt. I was seeing stars and colors. Then…" She blinked in confusion. "I don’t know what happened then. Next thing I remember I was running from the room…I don’t remember screaming." Suddenly Juana’s eyes went wide. "Sara! He’s got Sara!"

     De La Peña scratched the side of his nose. "Yes, I suppose so."

     "Should we go and see?" asked the Colonel.

     De La Peña shrugged. "May as well." Without hurry he walked toward Captain Martinez’s room at the opposite end of the corridor. After a pause everyone followed. Nadia happened to be the closest, so when the Commandant opened the door she could see everything inside.

     Sara Gomez lay spread-eagled on the floor, face down. Her hands and feet, tied to various pieces of furniture, were flung far apart. Her hair was a tangled mess, which covered her head and shoulders like a haystack. Captain Adrian Martinez was on top of Sara, fucking her hard. He paid no attention to the newcomers.

     There was something odd about the way the Captain fucked the girl. Something unusual but at the same time so right, so…natural. After a moment Nadia realized what it was. The man was fucking Sara’s pussy! Nadia’s own vagina tingled; she felt warmth between her legs. She so wanted to have a cock down there, too! Hypnotized by these unexpected desires, Nadia watched Captain Martinez’s glistening rod move in and out between Sara’s lips. 

     The girl bounced with each thrust but made no other moves and emitted no sound. The Captain slowed down gradually, stopped, then raised a hand. A woman behind Nadia gasped. The man was holding a piece of rope, a simple white nylon cord. The other end of that cord was looped around Sara’s neck. As he tugged on the rope, Sara’s head was forced off the floor. It was as though he held her on a leash. He lifted his arm even higher, making Sara throw her head back at a painfully uncomfortable angle.

     The same woman gasped again. Sara’s face was still covered by thick hair; but everyone got a glimpse of her throat and the rope wrapped around it. The rope was coiled so tight that the girl’s neck was deeply pinched. There was no way she could breathe. If anyone had any doubts that Sara was dead, this put them to rest.

     Holding his arm high, the man resumed the pumping motions. He didn’t seem to mind the onlookers as he fucked the body of a girl he strangled. After a short time he pushed himself deep inside her and with a final grunt finished his business. He remained still for a few seconds, then rolled off and got to his feet.

     Sara remained still forever.

     Turning at last toward the witnesses, Captain Martinez gave them one of his disturbing smiles. "I hope you liked the show."

     "Did you have to go ahead and kill her?" interjected the Colonel, "We don’t have enough of them as it is!"

      Captain Martinez paid no attention to the man who was formally in charge. Instead he chose to acknowledge the prison Commandant. "Andres."

     Captain De La Peña inclined his head. "Adrian."

     The two Internal Security Captains regarded each other silently. Some sort of non-verbal communication passed between them. "So when are they coming?" asked De La Peña. "One in the afternoon tomorrow," replied Martinez.

     After this enigmatic exchange, Captain Martinez turned back to Sara’s body. He took a small knife from his pocket and cut the bonds that held her legs. He dragged the legs far in the opposite directions until the dead girl appeared to be doing a side split. The man pointed at her gaping vaginal entrance. "The muscles don’t work anymore so the cunt will stay open no matter what. Now watch this."

     He placed a foot on top of the Sara’s ass and pushed. A stream of sticky white liquid poured out of her vagina and collected in a puddle below. "Very good! But there should be more in there." He stepped harder. Sara’s buttocks were flattened under the boot. A living person would howl in pain but Sara showed no reaction. The Captain was right: more semen oozed from the girl’s hole. This wasn’t enough for him. He increased pressure to the limit by transferring all his weight to the foot and managed to squeeze out several more drops. The last few of these drops were tinted with blood.

     "This is my favorite part," the Captain explained to the spectators. "I enjoy squeezing my cum out even more than I enjoy pumping it in…" Just then he noticed Juana Diaz, who was hiding in the crowd trying to make herself invisible. "Hey, that’s the one who’s got away! Give her to me."

     "Adrian, no." said Captain De La Peña, "You had your fun."

     Captain Martinez clicked his tongue. "No, no, I don’t need her for fun but only to administer a proper punishment. She scratched me." He pointed at a faint red line traced on his chest. "This is assault on an officer of the law."

     "I’ll make a note of an assault. If this prisoner deserves punishment we will administer it here. You can’t have her. Sorry, but one is enough for you today."

     Captain Martinez scowled, then shrugged. "Fine. You owe me. Besides, I still have the other one." He gave Sara a light kick on the ear; her head rolled to the side, revealing the face. Before she looked away, Nadia had a glimpse of wide-open eyes, blue lips, and an enormous burgundy-red tongue. "Come on, my dear dead doll!" called Captain Martinez, "Let’s try your other holes…"

     Captain De La Peña closed the door.

PART 7

     The next day, at eleven in the morning, the freshly showered prisoners were gathered in the gym. After some confusion and disarray—the discipline in the prison was beginning to flag—the girls arranged themselves in the regular three-row formation. Nadia allowed herself a small act of defiance; she left her assigned spot in the second row and placed herself in the middle of the last row, next to Katia. No one challenged her.

     The first row had a gap: the place that belonged to the poor strangled Sara Gomez was empty today. The girl was here in the room though; her lifeless body was hanging by the neck from the gallows. The prison administration had found it necessary to stage a fake execution to cover a real murder; so Sara was convicted for some crime or the other, and her corpse hastily strung up before it got too stiff.

    From a distance Sara was doing a credible job of looking executed by hanging, but any close inspection would easily reveal that she hadn’t died in the air. One big clue was a set of deep ligature marks going round Sara’s neck inches below the current placement of the noose. Then there was blood under her nail, chaffed skin on her stomach and breasts, a badly crushed vagina, and a big red bootprint forever stamped into the girl’s buttocks… It was impossible to see what Sara’s face was like, as her head was covered by the regulation black hood. For this Nadia was grateful; she had no wish to look again into those haunting dead eyes.

     Once the order was established, Captain De La Peña came forward with Ines Santana and Bianca Vea at his side. Tatiana Velez followed close behind, carrying a backpack. She was smirking as she walked; something was making her happy today. The Captain cleared his throat and began a speech. He stressed the importance of the home front and stated that it was every citizen’s sacred obligation to aid the defenders of the Homeland. He called on his audience to recognize the necessity of wartime sacrifice and harshly condemned the slackers and the shirkers. None of it was new. Every De La Peña’s speech had touched upon these themes before. In the past, the prisoners would listen carefully to every word, trying to guess what was in store for them. Now they knew what he really meant: that it was their patriotic duty to drink cum and have their buttholes stretched by any soldier who came along.

     Nadia found her attention drifting. She let the words wash over her, and instead reflected about Sara and her horrible fate. However, Nadia quickly realized that this was not a healthy subject for her emotional well-being, so she forced herself to think only about the upcoming orgy. She tried to guess how many men she would be required to fuck today, and who they might be: officers, enlisted men, or perhaps even civilians. At this point it didn’t matter much to her; but it was fun to speculate.

     One way of deducing who was coming to fuck them today was to listen to the noises in the yard. Roaring of bus engines meant they’d be common soldiers, while purring of limos signified someone more important. Nadia let the words of the speech wash over her and kept an ear out for sounds coming from behind the walls.

     Eventually she heard a soft, irregular drone barely distinguishable below Captain De La Peña’s booming voice. Yes, there could be no doubt; these were buses. But there seemed to be only a few of them, no more than two or three. Nadia was puzzled. Buses carried common grunts; but why the Colonel would bother to bring only a couple of platoons? Perhaps these were lower ranks from a smaller branch of armed forces: pilots, submariners, or even Internal Security goons. The last thought made Nadia shudder.

     Once the engines had shut down, all became silent again. This was another oddity. Where was the commotion? Nadia expected to hear yelling, joshing, catcalls—the usual racket made by excited and horny young males. This gang, on the other hand, was uncommonly quiet…

     Just then Captain De La Peña said something that made Nadia forget her musings and snap her attention back to him. The Captain was calling prisoners by name. He would read a name from his little notebook, and the girl he identified would step forward and turn around to face the rest of the prisoners. The singled out individuals did not appear to be worried, and Nadia soon learned why. These girls were called up to receive commendations for extraordinary contributions to war effort—or, in other words, for being fantastic whores.

     Estela Garrido was named first—no surprise there. Katia Jimenez and Alita Lopez were chosen as well; it seemed that the Colonel remained happy with their service. Among others selected for the honors there were several known sluts, as well as an occasional nice girl. The Commandant announced the reward for the winners: a shot of brandy. Nadia wished she’d been selected too; it’s been a long time since she had any alcohol. Unfortunately, Nadia’s Frigate Captain neglected to put in a good word for her, so the only drinks in store for her tonight would be the forthcoming sperm cocktails. Disappointed, Nadia resolved to be a good little cum-guzzling whore. If she played it right there might be brandy in her future, too.

    After Warden Santana paid out the prizes out of a hip flask, the Commandant returned to his sermonizing. Nadia wished the soldiers would hurry up. At this point, she preferred an hour of a most depraved buttfucking to another five minutes of these talks. She listened dutifully though; you never knew when your name might be called.

     At first the speech was rather sunny. Using glowing praise, the Commandant lauded the selfless souls who sacrificed their own pride and comfort for the sake of the defenders of the Homeland. After a time, however, his address acquired more ominous overtones. He began by slamming the shirkers who would not carry their weight; then he smoothly segued into thunderous denunciations of saboteurs and outright traitors. Uh-oh, thought Nadia, this didn’t look good. Where were those soldiers? Why wouldn’t they hurry up?

     Abruptly the Captain fell silent. He was staring at his notebook with a sort of dark expression that made the girls catch their breath. The silence stretched. The prisoners waited, growing increasingly nervous as the Captain was studying his writing. At last he looked up and said two names. "Silvia Munoz. Patricia Abril." The girls stepped forward, worry in their eyes.

     "What I just told you was not an idle talk," said the Commandant. "There are some among you who consistently and deliberately refused their duty. These are the individuals I am referring to!" He pointed a prosecuting finger at Patricia and Silvia, who shrunk in their skins. Refusing duty, of course, meant trying to avoid sexual acts, or being less than enthusiastic about them. This was true for both girls. Patricia Abril’s sensitive anus could not abide penetration; the poor girl hurt badly every time. Silvia Munoz’s problem, on the other hand, was more psychological: she must have had a thing about forced sex. She did all that was demanded of her, but slowly and mechanically; and was often slapped for hesitating.

     Pointing a finger at the cowering prisoners, the Commandant asked a rhetorical question. "Are these mere idlers who put their own comfort above our heroes, or are they something worse?" He let this linger for a few seconds, then answered his own question. "I maintain that these two are guilty of deliberate sabotage."

     This did not look good. There was no chance now that Silvia and Patricia could get off with a simple warning. Slacking could be forgiven but sabotage required punishment. But what kind of punishment?

     Right on cue, Tatiana Velez opened her backpack and took out what looked like a bludgeon or a club. It was made of shiny black rubber and its size and shape rather recalled an elongated bowling pin with a rounded knob on end. There was a strap attached to the handle, like in the old-style police batons. Tatiana weighed the club in her hand and grinned at Patricia. This answered the question about punishment: it appeared that the accused girls were to be caned.

     The Commandant raised his voice.  "But sabotage is not all! We’ve got treason here, within these very walls! There is a traitor among you, a violent and dangerous traitor!" The prisoners looked anxiously at each other. A violent traitor? What was he talking about? "Yesterday afternoon,” continued De La Peña, "an inmate of Santa Margarita attacked an officer of the law and inflicted injuries on him…Juana Diaz!" The girl jumped. "You are guilty of assault, attempted assassination, and high treason. Take five steps forward."

     Walking on unsteady feet, Juana took a place next to Silvia and Patricia, the two alleged saboteurs. The accusation against her was very, very unfair—everyone knew that Juana was defending her life and that the "injury" she inflicted on Captain Martinez was but a simple scratch. Evidently, this counted for nothing.

     "The accused individuals," said the Commandant, "are guilty of serious crimes. Such crimes call for serious penalty. Therefore, by the power vested in me by the Supreme Commander General Vilareal, I sentence Silvia Munoz, Patricia Abril, and Juana Diaz to—" There was a pause, as looked into his notebook as if to confirm one last thing. "I sentence them," he said a second later, "to death by hanging."

     Commandant’s words were met by a stunned silence. The prisoners were shocked beyond speech. While everyone was paralyzed by the nasty surprise, the guards moved without delay. They pounced on the condemned girls and speedily half-pushed, half-carried them toward the gallows. By the time Nadia realized what was going on and turned around to look, Juana and Silvia already stood on the platform with black bags on their heads and nooses around their necks. Patricia tried to put up resistance but was pacified after a short beating. A moment later she joined the other two girls on the scaffold.

     "Attention!" bellowed Sergeant Tatiana Velez. "The Boss is not finished yet!"

     Every head in the room snapped back to Captain De La Peña. "It was brought to my notice," he said, "that in the past week certain inmates took advantage of a lax discipline and committed acts of homosexuality. We cannot punish all the perpetrators; but we will punish those guilty of the most flagrant violation. Prisoner Francisca Pons. Prisoner Alita Lopez. You are hereby declared guilty of Lesbianism and sentenced to death by hanging."

     Nadia closed her eyes. So the incident in the showers was not forgotten after all, and poor Francisca and Alita were going to swing for this. Nadia thanked her lucky stars that she kept herself from kissing Katia—if she hadn’t it would been their necks in the noose now. She was prudent not to succumb to temptation; but mostly it was dumb luck. Who could’ve predicted this? No one expected the hangings to come back. Didn’t the Colonel instruct Captain De La Peña not to kill any more prisoners? Why was he suddenly so free with dealing death sentences?

     The Commandant didn’t bother to order Alita or Francisca out of the formation; the guards took them right where they were. Alita Lopez was plucked from the winners’ row—they didn’t even let her finish her brandy. It did not matter that only minutes ago De La Peña praised Alita’s contribution to the war; she was going to hang anyway.

     The prisoners were ordered to turn around and make thirty steps forward so they could watch the executions up close. By the time they were in position, five hooded and noosed prisoners already stood on the gallows platform. They were all on the left side next to each other. Apart from them, with two empty slots in between, hung the corpse of Sara Gomez. Nadia’s last row had become the first and the closest to the gallows. Nadia ended up opposite Patricia Abril—so near that from where she stood Nadia could clearly see goosebumps on Patricia’s skin.

     Twirling her club on its strap, Tatiana Velez ascended the steps to the platform. For a minute she did nothing but strut from one end of the gallows to the other like a model on a runway. This was her moment and she was making the most of it. Presently Tatiana deigned to notice the condemned and made a show of inspecting them one by one.

     The girls’ hands were bound behind their backs; but their feet were not constrained. Sturdy nylon nooses with identically placed knots were wound around their throats. The hanging rope was given very little slack, so the bodies did not have far to fall.

     Each doomed girl stood on a trapdoor—a wooden flap hinged on the end of the platform and propped by a rickety-looking plank. A system of wheels and pulleys tied the plank to a switch next to each trapdoor. Tatiana inspected the switches as well; one could see how tempted she was to pull the triggers.

      She took her sweet time though. First she stepped behind the girl on the far left, Silvia Munoz. Tatiana stood like that for some minutes, breathing down the poor girl’s neck and watching as her victim was getting increasingly agitated. At last Tatiana stepped back and with a well placed kick released the trapdoor mechanism. The flap underneath Silvia collapsed with a loud thump. The first execution had begun.

     The hanging girl arched her back and twisted her shoulders as through trying to shrug the noose off. Her feet, so still a moment ago, became a whirl of movement. The hood, wrapped tightly over her head, did not fully conceal the frightened, agonized expression written on her face. Tatiana watched Silvia for a few seconds, then stepped to the next victim.

     Next to hang was Juana Diaz. Tatiana fussed with the knot under Juana’s ear; she turned it this way and that, relaxed it, tightened again. Finally the knot was arranged to her satisfaction. Tatiana patted the girl on a shoulder and hit the trapdoor switch.

     For the second time in only two days Juana Diaz felt the squeeze of a rope around her throat. As she realized that this time there would be no release, she stopped struggling and gave herself over to the noose. The falling trapdoor had somehow given Juana a crosswise push, and now she was swinging round and round, her outstretched toes tracing a wide circle in the air. On her left, Silvia Munoz was kicking far and wide, swaying irregularly. A few times it looked like the two hanging bodies were about to collide but they never did; the nooses were placed too far apart.

     Tatiana skipped over Patricia Abril and went straight to the two accused Lesbians, Francisca Pons and Alita Lopez. Francisca Pons was dispatched in passing, without any foreplay. As she walked by, Tatiana casually pulled the switch that controlled Francisca’s trapdoor. She continued on without sparing a single glance at the body now flipping and flopping at the end of the rope. For the Sergeant, this hanging was strictly business.

     Alita Lopez was a different story. Tatiana stopped behind Alita’s back and stood still, regarding the girl’s rich black locks. No hood could contain the wealth of Alita’s glorious hair; it escaped from underneath the plastic, spilling down her shoulders. Tatiana put aside her club and grasped two thick handfuls of Alita’s curls. She stroked the hair; brushed it with her fingers; wrapped it around her fist. She raised it to her cheek and rubbed it against the skin as though testing for softness. In the middle of the play Tatiana kicked the trapdoor switch. There was a brief interruption when Tatiana had to steady the dangling body. This done, she continued with her amusement. As the strangling girl twisted her limbs and feverishly ran on air, Tatiana gathered Alita’s increasingly damp locks into her hands, raised it up, and buried her face in it.

     Patricia Abril knew that she was left for last. She could see nothing from underneath her hood but she heard the knocking of opening trapdoors, little gasps of the falling girls, the creaking of wood, the sounds of wrist hitting a buttock or a thigh slapping against a thigh. She could feel the gallows shake under the burden of swaying bodies. Patricia knew that the other four condemned women already dangled in the noose. And now she could hear a steady beat of approaching steps.

     Tatiana strolled toward Patricia, holding her black club—which has hasn’t used on anyone yet—easily by the strap. She came to a stop behind the dark-skinned girl and spent a few seconds just standing there, breathing down her neck to give her an even bigger scare. After she was satisfied that she could hear Patricia’s teeth chatter, Tatiana swung into action. First, she made the girl lean forward as far as the rope allowed. Then she spread Patricia’s smooth round buttocks and slid the palm of her free hand into the crack. The noosed girl squirmed but had no choice but to allow this treatment. As Tatiana stroked and tickled Patricia’s tiny pinhole of an anus, she raised the club to her lips and licked the knob on the end.

     At that moment Nadia experienced an abrupt shift in perspective. Like suddenly seeing a picture of a vase instead of two faces in profile, Nadia recognized what the object in Tatiana’s hand really was. This was not a club or indeed any kind of blunt weapon. Nor was it a mere decoration. This was…had to be…a dildo! A simple, abstractly-shaped one; not one of those anatomically correct designs that Tatiana favored; but a dildo nonetheless. And, while it was about a right size for a police truncheon, for a dildo, it was colossal.

     Tatiana pulled her big black dildo out of her mouth and looked to confirm that the tip was thoroughly covered in saliva. She used Patricia’s own bound wrists as a wedge to keep her ass crack open. Then, after firmly grasping Patricia around the waist, she drove the giant dildo into the unsuspecting girl’s asshole.

     Patricia jerked forward but was instantly checked by the tightened noose. She yowled like a wild animal and started to dance in place, stepping from foot to foot. Tatiana held the girl in an iron grip and pushed the spit deeper and deeper, paying no attention to the girl’s increasingly agitated movements. It was tough going, but Tatiana was strong. Patricia made another crazy attempt to get away, so, to teach her a lesson, Tatiana relaxed the grip for a second, letting the girl choke herself on the rope. This worked very well. Patricia realized that she had no choice but to accept the dildo.

     The thing was now so deep inside Patricia’s guts that a bulge had appeared on her lower stomach. The sounds coming from under the hood were deafening. At last the dildo would go no further. Tatiana confirmed this by hammering the end with her fist, sending shockwaves of pain up Patricia’s body. Once she was sure that the dildo was all the way in, Tatiana tied the strap around Patricia’s hips to keep the thing in place. She turned Patricia around to show the prisoners the huge black rod sticking out of her butt. She then stepped back and spent a moment enjoying the view of a shapely dark-skinned female writhing in pain. When she had her fill, she hit the trapdoor switch.

     Patricia’s howls had ceased the instant the trapdoor opened. She froze for a second, then continued stepping from foot to foot, this time on thin air. Her body was shaking from head to toe. It was clear that Patricia was in a lot of pain; but one could only guess what was causing her more suffering: the new agony of the stretched neck or the old torment of the stretched anus. Patricia’s anal muscles worked visibly to expel the foreign object. Her fingers scratched the smooth plastic of the dildo there was no way she could not undo the strap. To relieve the pressure in her bowels the hanging girl spread her legs as far as she could, making her figure resemble an upside-down letter Y. For several long moments the wide-open crevice of her snatch darkly gaped right opposite Nadia’s face. Of course, this could not last.  Before long, the pressure on Patricia’s neck overwhelmed all other pressures. The strangling girl slowly brought her legs together and even twisted one around the other.

     All trapdoors were now down. Five female bodies were tossing and turning on the rope like so many fish caught on the hooks. Each danced to her own tune, some slow, some fast; but they all gave their utmost. Even the sixth girl, though she was long dead, danced with the others, responding to the vibrations that shook the gallows.

     Juana Diaz, first to be strung up, was the first to give up the fight. Francisca Pons followed suit seconds later. The two girls stopped kicking; their muscles visibly relaxed. Two thick streams of pee tinkled one after the other into special wooden buckets.

     Patricia Abril was the next to expire. Already exhausted from pain, she lost consciousness sooner than the others. Her body struggled for a while out of a pointless inertia, then it was over. She did not piss herself. Nadia was glad that Patricia was spared that indignity—hanging stark naked with a dildo in her ass was humiliation enough.

     It took longer for the last two girls to die. Alita Lopez would come to rest from time to time; but just when one would think she was done, she'd wake up and lift a foot or bend an elbow. Silvia Munoz, after a short initial period of intense motion, stopped moving altogether. But her body was twitching constantly as it hung. She was squirming with pain and discomfort. It was hard to tell, but Nadia had a feeling that the girl had been conscious and fully aware.

     The last time Alita woke up she parted her legs slightly and pissed. Tatiana watched hungrily as the bucket was being filled with pee. Nadia did not want to think what the woman wanted to do with it. When the last drop fell Alita was already dead.

     Silvia's twitches ceased shortly after she filled her own bucket. It was all over now. Six lifeless bodies were swaying on the gallows, gradually coming to rest. Never before had they strung up so many at the same time. Nadia looked at her fellow prisoners. Their faces were grim. There were only thirty of them left now, six less that the supposed absolute minimum. Obviously, the Colonel’s order was rescinded or perhaps violated. Or, more likely, it was never real in the first place, and the safety they so enjoyed was only an illusion.

     The show was over. It was time for the surviving prisoners to begin earning their keep. Overwhelmed by an unexpected group execution, the girls completely forgot about the soldiers waiting behind the door. But of course they were there, waiting behind the door. Nadia could almost see them: rough, loud men with iron-hard cocks. Will they be dismayed by dead bodies hanging around in the background? Maybe a little. Certainly not enough to lose their hard-ons. And if these are a bunch of internal security thugs, the sight of six naked executed females would only make them hornier.

     Tatiana was having a little alone time with the corpses, so it was left to Warden Vea to command the prisoners. "Listen to my order!" she shrilled. "On the count of one, make about face! On the count of two, spread out to the sides! On the count of three, make thirty steps forward! One...two!...three!..."

     Practice makes perfect, and so the girls finished their maneuvers in under a minute. They all knew from the past experience what the next commands were going to be: go to your hands and knees and open wide your butt cheeks. Nadia's asshole was already tightening with the anticipation of an imminent invasion. But these commands never came! The girls remained standing.

     After a short wait the door had opened as last, and the new arrivals started to file in. One look at them, and Nadia's jaw dropped. She was not alone—every prisoner was staring dumbly in the same direction, hardly comprehending what they were seeing. It took a while for Nadia to recover from the state of shock; but when she did she cursed herself for being such a stupid cow. Of course! It all fit. She should've known this all along.

     Nadia thought back to the time she was arrested. At first she tried to hide but was discovered within two days. They sent her to a filtration camp converted from a stadium, where she had to sit, sleep, eat, and pee in the open air. After more than three weeks the stadium was closed, and Nadia was transferred to a jail cell somewhere in a rural area. She told to wait for a trial, then seemingly forgotten. For a whole month she had to stew in that lousy place, with no company aside from insects. Finally she was put in a car and driven to the capital. Her destination was the old Courthouse. She was escorted inside, into the big central chamber, where she saw dozens of shackled women in prison uniforms. They were all brought there to be tried by the newly formed tribunals. This was where Nadia first met Katia Jimenez and many of her other future prison mates. The trials were remarkably short. The accused were called by name, charged with some bogus crime, then speedily convicted and sentenced to a random prison term. Nadia got twenty years. At the end of the day the women were loaded into three old buses and shipped off. Two buses went to Santa Margarita; Nadia and Katia were in one of those buses. The last bus took a different turn and was never seen again. The rumour was that everyone on that bus was summarily executed.

     So, thought Nadia. The time between her going into hiding and the arrival at Santa Margarita was about nine or ten weeks. Give or take. And how much time passed from General Vilareal’s coup d’etat that installed Captain De La Peña as the prison Commandant? Exactly ten weeks! So it made perfect sense that the newcomers were not a crowd of horny soldiers that Nadia expected at first. Instead they were women—scared, bewildered, in some cases defiant women that bore unmistakable signs of having been recently imprisoned. The wave of arrests set off by the new regime had finally reached Santa Margarita.

     The newest prisoners entered the room in pairs. The first thing they saw upon entering were the ranks of the current inmates, and their first reaction was invariably appalled surprise. Nadia could not understand at first what they were so upset about; then it struck her. She and her friends were wearing their birthday suits. Nadia had gotten so used to their enforced nudity that she didn’t even consider how it might look to an unprepared outsider.

     The new arrivals' initial surprise was nothing compared to the shock they got after they happened to glance at the far end of the room. The obscene spectacle of six nude, faceless bodies hanging by their necks seemed to mesmerize the new girls on the spot. They especially goggled at the corpse that had a dildo protruding out of its anus. Many blanched as they realized the full implications of this particular detail.

     Once a pair passed through the door, they were given a few moments to study their surroundings and appreciate their situation. After this they were told to strip naked and hurry up about it. Their clothes were tossed into an ever growing pile in the corner. The newly exposed girls blushed and tried to cover their privates as they tottered to the center of the room. There they had to undergo an even bigger humiliation—a thorough cavity search performed by Bianca Vea and Ines Santana. The girls had to bend down and spread their legs in full view of everyone, which allowed the Wardens to scrupulously inspect the anus and the vagina. Nothing was ever found; however that didn’t prevent the searchers from enjoying their jobs.

     Once this was done, the new girl officially became a Santa Margarita inmate. As a sign of this she had to take her place in the ranks. At first the newcomers filled the gaps between the existing prisoners, then they started forming new rows: the fourth, the fifth, the sixth… Only when the seventh row was more than half full, the seemingly inexhaustible inflow of the new prisoners had finally stopped. In barely half an hour the prison's population had more than quadrupled.

     Nadia noted that all the new prisoners were below a certain age and above a certain level of attractiveness. This was not surprising—the girls had been quite obviously selected for these qualities. They didn't know it yet, but there would be a lot of fucking in their future.

     Nadia turned her attention to her new neighbors. On the left was a young, pretty redhead, who stood with her eyes tightly shut so that she would not have to see the gallows. She must have been snatched very recently—there were bikini lines still visible on her skin. Nadia stared at the redhead's breasts, so pale compared to the tanned chest and stomach; she wanted to touch them, to hug the girl, to whisper words of reassurance in her ears... Nadia instantly checked her desires. One wrong move, and they would both be strung up for Lesbianism. And besides, there was nothing reassuring she could've told her anyway.

     On Nadia's right was a dusky-skinned Mulatto woman who looked remarkably like Patricia Abril, except curvier. She tried to look cool and unaffected as if any fears were beneath her; but every one in while she would glance at the at the gallows as though she expected something to change there. She caught Nadia’s eye, pointed at herself, and circled a thumb around her throat. She then made an inquiring gesture, as though asking if they'd hang her too. In response Nadia could only shrug. They did not know it then, but the question turned out to be prophetic. That Mulatto girl's stubborn independence soon led to a violent outburst, and before the week was over she was swinging from the very same noose now occupied by Patricia.

     At last the stream of new prisoners had dried up. There was a pause, during which four of the guards hurriedly left the room. Nadia waited, certain that something else was coming. She was right.

     The guards returned a minute later with one last girl. Two of them flanked her on either side, holding her by the arms, and two others marched before and after. She was a tall girl dressed in stained, ragged khaki short and a badly crumpled blouse, which was torn at the collar to reveal a young perky breast. Her feet were bare and very dirty. Her wrists were handcuffed behind her back and another set of cuffs was attached to her ankles, making her walk with short, awkward steps. She could not see where she was going anyway, because her head was hidden underneath a shapeless black hood.

     The unknown girl stumbled blindly between her captors, who half-led, half carried her toward the back of the room. They passed swiftly through the ranks of prisoners and in a few moments closed the distance to the gallows. The girl swiveled her head unseeingly from side to side, as the guards rushed her up the steps of the platform. They were met by Tatiana Velez, who threw a noose over the the girl's head, but made it loose, so that it was impossible to feel through the fabric of the hood. Tatiana did not bother with trapdoors and switches; she led the blinded girl to the edge of the platform and simply moved aside, letting her victim to step obliviously onto the empty air.

     It would be a great shock to anyone, to suddenly find yourself in a freefall, then a split second later to be jerked upwards by the terrible vise around your neck. Before the girl could comprehend what was happening to her, she was already swinging in the noose. She stretched her legs trying to reach solid ground. Finding none, she bucked, twisted, desperately tried to free her hands. During an especially energetic arms and shoulder twist the blouse got caught between the handcuffs and tore away completely. Now the girl hung topless.

     The new prisoners gasped and murmured as they watched the hanged girl struggle on the gallows. None of these newbies had ever seen a hanging before. But even the experienced prisoners who witnessed dozens of hangings could not remain impassive. For the girl had put up an incredible fight. She was young and strong; did not want to believe she was going to die; and must have thought it possible to free herself from the noose if she moved forcefully enough. Her chaotic contortions were only making the rope tighter but that didn’t seem to dissuade her.

     The strangling girl’s pendulous swings made the gallows shake visibly. The other hanging bodies were rocking too, and the creaking of wood got so loud, it sounded like groans. Ignacio Escobar looked worried. His team of builders weren’t exactly highly trained professionals, and the structure they built wasn’t all that sturdy. Given enough stress, it could conceivably collapse at any moment.

     Ultimately there was no cause for concern. The gallows could easily withstand the combined weight of seven slim females, no matter how energetically some of them bounced on the rope. Besides, under the circumstances even the wildest activity was strictly temporary. While the hanging girl twisted her torso and flung her limbs in all directions, the noose was quietly doing its job.

     In the end she simply stopped. After a few powerful kicks, she stretched her body as though to prepare for another effort...and remained in this position. The creaking and groaning ceased; the only sound now was the faint jingling of the leg chains. The girl hung limply, turning slowly from left to right. A dark stain started spreading down the front of her shorts. This caused renewed consternation among the new prisoners, most of whom were unaware of this unappealing but natural effect of slow hanging.

     Nadia glanced at the redheaded on her left. The poor girl was sweating, trembling, and hyperventilating, and in general appeared to be on the cusp of fainting. That's okay, thought Nadia uncharitably. She'll get used to it. They will all get used to it, once they see enough bodies swinging in the noose. And those of them, who become the swinging bodies themselves, will get used to it the fastest...

     The hanged girl’s shorts were soaking wet now. Her toes were curled; she was dead. Nadia studies the unknown girl as her body steadily rotated on the rope. She had more bruises than Nadia supposed at first; asphyxiation made them stand out against the discolored skin. There were burns and cuts as well. The neck had become elongated and painfully thin where it was constricted by the noose. One of the nipples was erect and pointed forward; the other seemed to be missing altogether—was it cut off? Nadia wondered who the executed girl was. What made her so dangerous to the regime that they had to dispose of her in such a way? Idle questions. Nadia knew she would never find out the executed girl's identity or even learn what she looked like. But one thing Nadia could say for sure. The anonymous girl did not have an easy death.

     Sergeant Velez unlocked the dead girl's ankle cuffs. With some difficulty she pulled down the sodden shorts, revealing the once white panties. Then she pulled down the panties. Nadia was saved from having to watch what happened next, because at that very moment the prisoners were ordered to turn around.

     Captain De La Peña demanded everyone’s attention and instantly got it. The girls were all ears, although the sounds coming from behind were quite distracting. The Captain gave the same speech he delivered on his first day as a Commandant. He described the prison’s arrangements and procedures, explained prisoners’ duties, outlined the rules and hinted at severe punishments for violating them. Unlike the first time, everyone got the hint now. The still warm bodies dangling from the gallows helped to drive his point home.

     "Any questions?" asked De La Peña in the end. No one had questions.

     "Very well. The Wardens will divide you into shifts and direct you into showers. Each of you will get exactly four minutes to clean up." He studied his hands, then looked back at the prisoners. "You will reconvene here at twenty three hours sharp. We are having a visit from the Second Paratroopers Brigade and I want you on the very best behavior. Understood?" The prisoners made disorderly noises of assent.

     "Understood?" he asked again, louder. "Yes, Sir!!!" shouted each girl at the top of her lungs.

     The Captain allowed himself a tiny smile of satisfaction. "In this case, dismissed!"