NO GREATER GIFT
Interlude Two: Enslaved WARNING: This is where things start to get nasty for Jack. Descriptions of torture and sexual abuse in this chapter, and most likely more graphic descriptions of rape to follow in later chapters. Most definitely not for young eyes. When Jack awoke, it didn’t take him long to realise where he was. Or, more specifically, what he was in. It was a casket, like the old Earth-style coffins. He tried to scream, but found he had no voice with which to voice his distress and growing panic. He tried to lift his hands to pound on the lid that was mere inches above his face, but his arms, and indeed the rest of his body, were completely paralysed. All he could do for himself was breathe. Jack shut his eyes, but it did nothing for the clawing sensation of claustrophobia that was steadily engulfing him. Don’t panic, my pet. You are perfectly safe. I would not have gone to the trouble of smuggling you onto my home world, only to have you suffocate. The voice was so clear that it took every ounce of reason Jack could muster to convince himself that he was actually alone in the hellish box. Who are you? he asked, but the question was spoken only in his mind. He had no voice to speak the words out loud. It didn’t seem to matter to his captor, though. My name is Darien. You will call me Master. Like hell, Jack thought furiously. Let me go! I don’t think you want me to do that, my pet. You see, my people are peaceful enough, but they are also fiercely protective of their world. You will be the first outsider to set foot on my world for my hundreds of years. Jack’s breath came in rapid gasps as he struggled to keep himself from hyperventilating. What do you mean? I mean, pet, that if you are discovered, I may be punished but you will be put to death. As much as Jack didn’t want to believe it, he could sense the truth in Darien’s words, and he felt himself despair. Cruel laughter answered his distress. Yes, you know I do not lie. Trust that it is in your best interests now to obey me. Sleep now, my pet. When you awaken, it will be to your new life, and I promise you will want for nothing, as long as you do as I say. Jack wanted desperately to tell his abductor that he could shove his platitudes up his arse, but he could feel sleep overtaking him once more. He struggled to stay awake, but the power of his captor was overwhelming and before he fully comprehended what was happening, darkness claimed him once more. He woke again to find he was free of the confines of the coffin, but that relief was tempered by the realisation that he was lying on a ragged pile of blankets on a hard cold floor, and that his legs were manacled and chained. More angry than afraid right then, Jack sat up and reached for the offending irons to try and free himself. It was a pointless waste of energy – the manacles were solid and heavy on his ankles. “Fuck,” he whispered, falling back easily into a habit of using twenty-first century vulgarity to express his frustration. Resigned to the fact that he was going nowhere for the time being, he instead took a moment to observe his surroundings. It was an unremarkable room; more like a twentieth century Earth wood cabin than any sort of standard fifty-first century dwelling. Despite the apparent simplicity of the place, though, it was nonetheless solid in structure. Not to mention... No door, Jack realised with a sinking heart. Wherever he was, he was well and truly hidden away. A caged animal, he thought with a fresh hint of panic. Right at that moment, that was all he was – a caged animal being kept for the amusement of another. A shimmer of light appeared briefly in the shape of a door, and the green-eyed monster, otherwise known as Darien, appeared in front of him. For the first time, Jack got a good look at his captor, and the man who had quite possibly killed his partner and lover. Darien was more or less human in appearance. In fact, the only physical features he had that suggested he wasn’t were his eyes, which were almost luminescent green, and hair that was jet black with silver streaks. He was tall, well over six foot, and while he didn’t appear particularly broadly built, there was a real strength in his body. That, coupled with the psychic power that Jack had already been witness to, made for a terrifying opponent. What Jack hadn’t anticipated, though, was the man’s very real physical beauty. His skin was lightly tanned, with high-set cheek bones, and lips that Jack would ordinarily have considered to be just right for kissing. Had he not been in the situation that he was in, he might have found himself attracted to him. As it was, the thought left him wanting to throw up. Leg irons just weren’t his idea of good kink. “I apologise for the inconvenience of the shackles,” Darien told him in a tender tone that masked a sinister edge. “They’re only until you are no longer at risk of trying to escape.” “What do you want with me?” Jack asked hoarsely, only to shudder when Darien reached out to caress his face. “I want you to love me, to worship me. I want you to adore me so much that you’ll never want to leave my side. I want everything that you are to belong to me.” A hysterical giggle escaped Jack’s lips. “Is that all? Why didn’t you just say so?” Abruptly, the hand caressing his face moved to grasp him by the chin in a bruising grip that caused Jack to whimper in pain. “Don’t mock me, my pet. I can give you a life free of want and need, but if you upset me I can make you suffer in ways you can’t possibly begin to imagine.” Jack could feel the danger radiating off Darien like heat, but he still could not help himself. He’d always been a smart arse, it was as ingrained into his psyche as the ability to lie and cheat, or seduce. “Oh no, I wouldn’t want to upset you. Hell, no! You’ve just made all my dreams come true! Why would I ever want to upset you?” The backhanded strike across his face felt much like getting hit with an iron bar. Jack was knocked back on his arse, and he gagged at the taste of blood that filled his mouth. He blinked dazedly as Darien towered over him with a thunderous expression. And instant later, Jack screamed in pain at the agonising and hideous sensation of the very bones in his body bending and twisting out of place. It was an agony the likes of which he had never experienced before in his life, and he curled in on himself in a desperate but futile attempt to block it out. A strangled sob escaped his lips, and barely audible words formed on those same lips. “Please... Stop... Hurts...” It was over before Jack actually realised it. His mind was still grasping the fact that the pain had stopped when Darien crouched down beside him and stroked his hair in an obscenely tender gesture. “You will learn, my pet. Sooner or later, you will learn. If you’re as intelligent as I believe you to be, you will learn sooner, rather than later.” And then he was gone, leaving Jack to sob quietly, and to despair in the solitude of his prison. Jack prided himself on being strong, both physically and mentally, and he also prided himself on having no shame. Over the following week, though, – in reality he had no clue how long it was, because his captor never allowed him to see daylight – Darien systematically broke down every defence he had until he no longer knew up from down, front from back or yes from no. The constant assault on his very limited psychic defences reduced him to a shattered wreck frighteningly fast. Every show of defiance he made, no matter what or how small, was met with brutally cruel retribution that inevitably left Jack a whimpering mess. For the most part, Darien’s choice of torment was mental, and he delighted in Jack’s tortured screams as he forcibly clawed his way through the labyrinth of Jack’s mind to learn every possible thing he could about his prisoner. Then, when he was done breaking Jack as comprehensively as possible, he would sit with him for a time. He held Jack with a compassion that belied his sadistic nature, and talked to him about everything that would be his if he would only submit. And slowly, Jack felt his resolve to fight crumbling as he came to the unhappy realisation that no one was coming to rescue him. So, with the awareness in the back of his mind that he would have just one chance to escape before Darien destroyed him both physically and mentally, Jack began to devise a plan. When Darien came to him next, Jack almost wasn’t aware of his presence. He was almost consumed with pain, fatigue and hunger, and he had very little energy left for anything at all. It was all part of Darien’s plan, he supposed dully. Push him to the brink and then, when he had very little strength left and was teetering on the very edge of sanity, take control. On some level, Jack supposed he’d known all along what Darien was doing, but he had been so focused on his own ineffectual attempts to protect himself that it hadn’t sunk in until it was nearly too late. As a result, he barely had the strength left to do what he knew he needed to do in order to save what little was left of his sanity. Using whatever remnants of strength he had left, Jack struggled up onto his knees in front of Darien, who watched with keen interest. Lowering his head – something that wasn’t difficult to do, given how exhausted and ill he was feeling – Jack murmured, “Master”. Crouching, Darien took hold of Jack’s chin in a none-too-gentle grip and forced Jack to look him in the eyes, searching for any sign of insincerity. Jack was a practised con man, though, and the systematic abuse by Darien had made it easy for him to keep his mind relatively empty. He gave nothing away. “Good,” Darien purred, caressing Jack’s face with tenderness that, to Jack, felt possessive. “I was starting to wonder whether more drastic measures would be needed.” Jack couldn’t keep himself from flinching at the suggestion that Darien had been prepared to do even worse to him. He shut his eyes to try and hide his revulsion as cool lips brushed over his forehead. “You have no need to fear me, pet. Not unless you provoke my anger, and you wouldn’t be that foolish now, would you?” “No, Master,” Jack whispered, swallowing back the bile that the word induced. Darien stood and drew Jack up with him. “We have no more need of these, then,” he said, and the manacles broke away from his ankles at just a glance from Darien. “Come with me, pet.” Jack took a shaky step forward. The muscles in his legs were weak after both non-use and a week of torment and torture, and he stumbled as his legs threatened to collapse beneath him. An arm snaked around his waist, keeping him upright. “I will tend to you shortly,” Darien promised, and though his words seemed innocent enough, the tone sent an unpleasant shiver through Jack. “Now, though, I wish to show you your quarters.” Jack’s ‘quarters’ turned out to be a room no bigger than the one he’d initially been kept in. The only difference was that this room had a door and a bed, and a small, if pitifully empty shelf. There was no window through which he could see the outside world, Jack noted ruefully. He realised that Darien was speaking, and had to force himself to pay attention. “Please me,” Darien told him, “and I will reward you accordingly. Do you like books? Trinkets? I will give you whatever you desire, as long as you obey me. Now, lie down. I will tend to you, and then you shall rest. Tomorrow, you will learn what is expected of you.” Jack lay down as ordered, and an involuntary sigh escaped his lips at the comfort the mattress afforded him. The bed itself was narrow and relatively hard, but compared to the pile of blankets that had been his bed for the last week, it was positive luxury, and the pillow felt like heaven beneath his aching head. He was so lost in his relief at finally being off the hard, cold floor that he didn’t realise what was happening until he felt Darien’s hands unbuttoning his trousers and pulling them roughly off. He tried to sit up, but an invisible force held him down firmly. “Master...?” Jack asked shakily. “What are you doing? Please, don’t...” He didn’t really want to think about what he was pleading Darien not to do, and of all the things he’d imagined Darien might do to him, rape was not among them. Jack had done a lot of things with a lot of people, but it had never at any time been anything but consensual. He could barely conceive of the concept of forcing someone into a sexual act if they truly didn’t want to participate. Despite everything that had happened so far, he honestly didn’t expect Darien to continue with his actions once he’d voiced his protest. Terror swept down through him in icy cold waves as Darien silenced him with a hard, threatening look that lacked any degree of benevolence. “Silence. Do not fight me.” Jack clamped his jaw shut as much in an effort not to scream as to keep himself from protesting. Tears stung his eyes as his shirt was stripped from his body and, finally, his boxer shorts were torn away, leaving him naked and vulnerable. He shut his eyes, humiliated like never before under Darien’s intense and appraising stare. He’d never before been embarrassed to be nude, but right then he wanted nothing more than to have something – anything – to shield him from his captor’s eyes. An involuntary yelp escaped his lips as he felt Darien’s hands on his body, and he opened his eyes again to find the other man staring at him in warning. “Silence!” Jack swallowed a whimper, and once again clamped his jaw shut. Satisfied, Darien continued with his examination. His hands probed everywhere, rubbing roughly over Jack’s nipples before sliding down to caress his abdomen. He squeezed Jack’s thighs hard enough to leave immediate bruises before jerking Jack’s legs wide apart to leave him completely exposed. From there, his hands roughly handled Jack’s penis and sac, before his long, thick fingers probed his opening. All the while, Darien hummed his approval, cruel pleasure in his face. “Very good,” he said, finally releasing his hold on Jack. “You are indeed a fine example of your species. I shall enjoy training you.” He moved back to the door. “Sleep, now. Your training will begin tomorrow.” Jack didn’t need to get up and try the door to know it was locked. Distraught and sickened by what lay ahead of him, he curled up slowly on the bed and eventually slipped into a fitful slumber.
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