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Mine Misery

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Barbaria1

Rebel Leader
Staff member
For all you CFers who wondered what ever became of Barb and Patricia after they were sold as slave labor to the owner of a mine at the conclusion of the windar/Barbaria serialized story "Plantation Plight", we are launching here the long-anticipated sequel. The episodes are written and in the can ... so sit back, relax, and check here daily for the latest episode of "Mine Misery"! (Art by Tibool unless otherwise credited).

Chapter 1 "Intake" (Barb 1)

My mother, Patricia, and I sat side-by-side on the flat wooden bed of the horse-drawn wagon as it pulled away from the Plantation gate. Hat pulled low on his forehead ... our former owner, Charles, stood at the edge of the road, with Sarah his wife at his side, watching us leave, eyes squinting into the morning sun.

It had been a good ten days since Pat and I had hung for hours, upside down and naked from that very gate ... on display as a reminder to all passersby ... of what happens to runaway slaves. It was also on that very day that Charles, under pressure from the local Sheriff, agreed to sell us to a local salt mine in need of slave labor.

Since that day Pat and I had lain in our slave cabin, stretched out on our bed, recovering from the horrors of our punishments, which had included a brutal caning and whipping prior to being strung up for hours from the Plantation Gate. Lots of salve, rest, and a welcome reprieve from work had gradually restored our strength and bodies.

Charles had appeared in our cabin doorway early this morning. I thought he was going to demand the usual sexual favors of us. We were both naked, he had been drinking, and he had that familiar lustful look in his eyes. I sat up in bed and swung my legs over the side, expecting him to want the usual blow job. But instead he tossed Pat and I each a threadbare gray cotton shift and ordered us to get our sorry asses out of bed, put them on and follow him.

We looked at each other, shrugged, and slipped the garments on over our heads. Standing up, I tugged mine down as far as it would go. It barely came down to the tops of my thighs. The material was so threadbare, it hardly hid anything.

Docilely we followed him outside, where he had us stand still while he shackled us together, binding my right ankle and wrist to her left with two pairs of iron cuffs linked by short chains. From there we hobbled out ... trying to keep in step with one another ... to the gate on the road.

At the gate, we waited until our horse-drawn transport arrived. Some papers were handed to the driver along with a bit of cash to pay for his services. Then Charles helped us crawl up onto the flat bed. He said goodbye, adding that he reckoned he would miss fucking us whenever he had a mind to do so, but that this was probably for the best.

Moments later, Sarah appeared at his side, looking much happier than Charles to see us go. "Good riddance to bad trash!" she hissed venomously, spitting on the ground. Cowed by his wife, Charles bowed his head and shuffled his feet until the driver urged the horse drawing the wagon to move with a shrill whistle and a tap on its rump with his horse whip.

The rest of the day was spent on the road. The summer heat soon reached its midday zenith and baked us as we passed through mile after mile of open country, fields green with maturing crops. Covered with dust from head to foot, stiff and sore from sitting for hours on a thin layer of dirt and dried cow manure, I wanted badly to get up and stretch but the lurching of the wagon and the fact that Pat and I were shackled together made movement of any kind awkward and difficult.

It was late afternoon when we turned off the main road onto a track that led up into the hills. The sun was setting, painting distant clouds with streaks of red. We continued to climb, traveling through wooded terrain ... and in the dusky light that signals the end of the day we arrived at the salt mine where Pat and I were destined to serve out a long contract doing hard labor in its labyrinth of tunnels and shafts.

The air had cooled noticeably since we had entered the forested hill country. My hardening nipples stood erect and poked stiffly against the damp sweat-stained front of my thin shift. I knew that the day-long journey was over, and felt apprehensive as Pat and I faced the unknown.

As the wagon pulled to a stop, a burly barrel-chested, middle-aged man stepped out of a rambling wooden shack and strode purposely in our direction ... swinging a glowing lantern in his left hand. In his right he gripped the handle of a long bullwhip.

Two other men trailed in his wake. As the light from the swinging lantern briefly illuminated their faces, I instantly recognized ... and was astonished to see ... George, the overseer at the Plantation who just weeks ago had both whipped me and aided in my escape attempt.

"George must have either left the Plantation or been fired," I thought to myself.

"You're late," the man with the whip ... who was obviously in charge ... bellowed at our driver ... raising his lantern high to cast light on our huddled forms, and adding "time is money."

Turning to George and the third man, he shouted, "Get these two new slaves off the wagon and inside so we can get them processed and call it a night."

Pat and I were promptly manhandled down off the flatbed, set on our feet, and given a good hard shove in the direction of the shed. I gave George a sharp look as I stumbled forward, nearly colliding with Pat. He looked straight ahead, curiously showing no sign of recognition.

Inside the shack, Pat and I were lined up facing a battered old wooden desk. As the burly man with the whip took his place on the other side, George and the third man busied themselves undoing the shackles that bound us together at the wrists and ankles. I rubbed my freed wrists gingerly, all the time watching the man behind the desk warily.

He laid his whip down on the desktop, opened a ledger book, placed his hands flat on the desktop and leaned into our faces. The strong smell of alcohol on his breath assaulted my senses. He was so close I could almost look into each of the pock marks that covered his nose and cheeks.

"Welcome to your new home here at the salt mines, ladies," he breathed, "My name is Joe, and I manage operations here; these other two gentlemen are my assistants ... they oversee the daily work of the labor gangs. Don't ever forget while you are here that you are slaves. You have no rights. My word and the word of the overseers is law here. Any disobedience, or lackadaisical work performance, will be severely punished."

With that he pulled back, bent over the open ledger book, took up a pencil between his short stubby fingers and entered in crude block letters under the column headed 'intake' the names, 'Patricia Moore' and 'Barbara Moore', followed by the date and time of our arrival.

Straightening up, he looked directly at us again and said, "I am assigning you two to the day shift. We run two shifts here, 12-hours each, night and day. Your overseer is Jake. He and George, who oversees the night shift, will take you into the main tunnel now to bed down with the rest of your shift. But first we need to inspect you both for contraband and put you in restraints ... so kindly strip!"

I stared at him dumbly, then said, "Why? It's chilly and all we have are these thin shifts ... and it's got to be even cooler in the mine tunnels!"

"All new slaves work in the nude here. You want to wear something, sweetie, you gotta earn it. Now strip and be quick about it or I will have George or Jake do it for you!"

Jake, who from all appearances seemed quite the malicious kind, took a menacing step forward. I took one look at him and hastily reached for the bottom hem of my shift, slipping it up and over my head and dropping it on the floor. Pat did the same. We faced them naked.

"You first," said the manager, pointing at me "Bend over the desk and hold still."

I hesitated, but George gripped the back of my neck in his huge hand and slammed me down on the desktop face first and held me there. I felt my ass cheeks being parted and then the probing and poking, followed by the sudden rude penetration of an index finger. I gasped and moaned as the search continued, moving from my anus to my pussy.

"She's clean," Jake announced as he straightened up from kneeling behind me and playfully slapped my ass. I stood up slowly, but was jerked to one side by the arm to make room for Pat, who was promptly forced to take my place ... bent helplessly over the desk ... and submit to a cavity search.

When it was over, she was released and staggered over to my side, holding her crotch. We were ordered to stand still and place our hands on our heads while a hinged metal collar was closed around each of our necks, and bolted shut in back. It had a small metal ring affixed to its front.

Then we were told to stand down and hold out our hands. Manacles and chains, long enough to allow movement, were quickly attached to our wrists and to our ankles. When all was done, we stood side-by-side, teary-eyed and blinking, fully shackled and ready. I was hungry and thought about asking for food, but decided there was little point in that.

sl008.jpg

"Ok, take them away," said Joe, waving his hand dismissively, "I'm turning in for the night."

Picking up the lantern, George led the way through the darkness to the main portal leading into the mine. We followed, shuffling along, chains clinking. Jake brought up the rear.

Once inside the mine, we followed a tunnel leading to the active mine heads. Along the way we passed a detail of the night shift, which consisted of a couple dozen naked women, hard at work digging and filling small carts with crushed rock and other debris. The area was lit with burning torches stuck in the walls of the tunnel. The flickering light reflected off the naked straining bodies of the slaves, glinted off the shiny surfaces of their shackles and collars, and lit up the twin lines of the rail tracks on which the carts rolled.

tibm018.jpg tibm023.jpg

We moved on, passed through a long dimly lit stretch of tunnel, took a right and entered a sizeable chamber in which perhaps as many as a hundred women were sleeping on the ground ... naked with their ankle chains clipped to their collars in such a way as to force them into fetal-like positions. The sound of their measured breathing filled the space.

"Welcome to the day shift," said Jake, waving his hand expansively. Find yourself a comfy place to lie down, and I will clip your ankle chains to your neck collars."

tibm350.jpg

"But that has to be so uncomfortable!" I objected.

"Keeps you girls from sleep-walking," replied Jake, chuckling at his own bad joke.
 
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Two talking backs and one hesitation so far Barbara, and you havn't even started work yet.

I predict a punishment in the next episode at this rate?

Very vivid picture in my mind of their conditions, life will not be much fun.
 
Don't worry. Little risk for that in a salt mine.
Ongoing exposure to salt, as a rock and in the ambient air, will wear out their health soon enough. Even if they would behave.
Yep, average life span of a mine slave isn't very long. Escape is almost mandatory.
Their body will soon look like a leper, their brain as if they would have Alzheimer's disease.

tumblr_o9htpnezfR1uzf7f5o1_1280.jpg Come on guys .... let's not circle the drain just yet! :confused:
 
It's dark as the dungeon and damp as the dew,
Where the dangers are many and the pleasures are few,
Where the rain never falls and the sun never shines -
Being crucified's better than down in the mines!
 
It's dark as the dungeon and damp as the dew,
Where the dangers are many and the pleasures are few,
Where the rain never falls and the sun never shines -
Being crucified's better than down in the mines!

there is nothing better than an Eulalia original .... smiling broadly here :p
 
Chapter 2. "Breaking in" (Patricia 1)

Looking back on my first few weeks in the mines, I have to say that the first day was without a doubt the absolute worst, although that is not to say the long weeks of hard slave labor that followed were not horrific enough.

On that first morning, after a sleepless night ... lying naked on a gritty earthen floor while trying to find a comfortable position with my ankle chain fastened to my neck collar in such a way that my knees were spread and drawn up close to my face ... I was roused by shrill whistles and the day-shift overseer, Jake, bawling "Alright ladies! Time to rise. I trust everyone had a nice snooze. On your backs please, so the enforcers can free your leg shackles!"

tibm43.jpg

I groaned and rolled over on my back, feet in the air. Barb did the same as Jake's "enforcers" ... a half dozen men and women, some of them former slaves, all dressed in khakis and tall black boots ... moved swiftly among their charges, wielding keys to open the locks that secured leg shackles to collars. As soon as mine were freed, I stretched my cramped legs and got shakily to my feet, holding out a hand to help Barb up too.

tibm472.jpg

The entire day shift was herded out into the so-called "long tunnel" for morning roll call. The enforcers lined us up against one wall ... probably about a hundred of us all together ... hands clasped behind our heads. Jake walked slowly down the line ... inspecting each slave. He was followed closely by an enforcer wielding a clip board and duty roster.

tibm478.jpg

The air in the tunnel was chilly. I shivered in my nakedness. Jake made a point of stopping directly in front of Barb and me. He grinned wickedly, jabbed a bony finger at us. Turning to the enforcer with the clipboard ... a balding, thin man with a narrow hatchet-like face ... he said dryly, "Last night's intake. Keep a close tab on these two new bitches!"

The enforcer squinted intently at my collar, and it was then that I learned that each slave was identified by the number engraved on her collar. I watched as he entered the number 1491 on the roster, and then 1492 for Barb. Glancing up at us, he said before moving on, "You two are assigned to 'Detail D'. Remember that!"

Farther down the line there was a bit of a commotion. Two of the girls appeared to be sick. One could barely stand; the other had collapsed in a heap on the ground. A heavy-set female enforcer with a round ugly face, squat pitted nose, and apparently a very bad temper, was trying to get the poor wretch on the ground to stand up by thrashing her soundly with a short whip.

tibm180.jpg

"Do we have a problem here?" asked Jake, standing hands on hips behind the female enforcer.

"Too weak to work!" reported the round-faced enforcer. "They've both been at it too long; they be giving out on us from the looks of it."

"Alright, the intake last night brought in two fresh slaves. Enough to replace them. You know what to do. These two are expendable."

He walked away, and while we all ... that is, the entire shift ... watched, the enforcers dragged the two unfortunates over to the far side of the tunnel, hoisted them up onto one of the carts used for hauling away debris and salt, pulled down a pair of nooses dangling from pulleys bolted to the tunnel supports overhead, slipped the nooses over their heads and tightened them around their necks.

tibm479.jpg

The girl who was more with it began to struggle, whining and begging for mercy, but a moment later the cart was pulled away, and the two of them stepped off into thin air. There was collective gasp from those of us standing along the wall as the enforcers backed away, leaving the two unfortunates hanging by the neck, toes about a foot off the ground, making hideous gurgling, gasping sounds, and kicking helplessly as they slowly rotated round and round at the end of a rope.

"Oh shit!" whispered Barb, nudging me with her elbow.

I was too shocked to respond. I just stared at the hapless pair as their faces turned purplish red, their kicking slowed and then stopped, and their tongues protruded. I felt sick and wanted to puke, though my stomach was empty.

Then, as if on cue, the enforcers came down the line with breakfast, which consisted of a bowl filled with some kind of porridge and half slice of stale bread. We squatted against the tunnel wall and ate. After the bowls were collected, we were sent off to work ... one detail at a time.

When they called 'Detail D', Barb and I responded ... getting up to join a half dozen other women who were gathering at the end of the tunnel. Jake, along with the enforcer carrying the clipboard, were already there, as was the round-faced mean one. We were told that 'Detail D' was to work the "crusher" that day. The detail was formed up two-by-two and marched out of the mine and into the crushing shed, a large wooden structure located just outside the entrance.

In the center of the crushing shed stood a large wooden hub, with four long protruding spars. At the base of the hub, a series of gears and a shaft led to a pair of big grinding stones in the space below. Off to one side was a long chute, and another detail of slaves stood ready at the top of the chute to toss huge chunks of white salt from carts into the jaws of the crusher below. Our detail's task was to provide the power to turn the grindstones by putting our backs into moving the long spars round and round.

Barb and I were instructed to take up positions at one of the spars, she on the outside, and I on the inside. To keep us at our appointed work stations, our shackled wrists were secured to metal rings bolted to the spar. Once our detail was in place, an enforcer climbed up on a raised platform, put a whistle to his lips, and blew.

au_boulot__faineante___by_weberelaine-d4ztyti.jpg (art by weberelaine)

Within seconds a whiplash broke across my back. I jumped, let out a scream, and leaned into it, pushing hard against the spar with all I had. The sharp cracking and hissing sounds of more whip lashes echoed off the ceiling. Barb yelped as she got hers. Others grunted or cursed. Everyone received one. I noted the thin red line that appeared on the bare back one of the straining girls pushing on the spar ahead of ours ... and imagined that there would be more to come before this was over.

Our own spar resisted our efforts, shuddered, then moved. The hub began slowly to turn. I took a step forward, pushing hard, and glanced at Barb who was putting her back into it too ... leaning forward, arms extended, gripping the spar with both hands ... her hanging breasts swaying and bouncing as we began to pick up speed. Meanwhile, the girls assigned to the other detail began throwing the first chunks of salt down the chute.

Round and round we went. I kept my eyes glued to the undulating buttocks of the girl on the spar ahead of me, and kept pushing. Billowing clouds of white dust rose from the maws of the crusher below. Soon, our sweating, straining torsos were coated with a fine layer. I could taste the salt and my eyes began to sting.

More lashes were meted out to keep us moving ... the salt adding to the fiery pain on my back. Two enforcers were stationed on opposite sides to lash out at us whenever they thought they detected a slackening of effort. By the time the whistle blew to signal a break, I reckoned we had been working for two or three hours, and that I had taken a half dozen lashes.

elles_tournent_inlassablement_by_weberelaine-d4zty2d.jpg (art by weberelaine)

The crusher ground to a halt. I leaned wearily against the spar. Barb placed her head on the wood and closed her eyes. I looked at her with pity in my eyes. Her back was raw, crisscrossed with red lines. She had taken more lashes than I had ... perhaps three or four times as many, and had suffered a lot already.

One of the enforcers came around with a bucket of water and a ladle. I drank greedily, water sloshing down my chin and running in rivulets over my salt-covered chest. No water was offered to Barb who seemed only semi-conscious.

Then the whistle sounded again. I felt the whoosh of a lash slicing through the air just behind my ear. It was meant for Barb, who threw her head back, twisted half way about, screamed and fell to her knees. This was followed by an angry shout. A second lash broke across my daughter's bare back. She struggled to regain her footing and leaned into the the spar just as it began to move. We were underway again.

la_fatigue_se_fait_sentir_by_weberelaine-d4ztyfp.jpg (art by weberlaine)

As we strained to turn the crusher, I began to worry about Barb. The heat had built up in the shed to the point where the air was stifling. She hadn't had anything to drink, and one of the enforcers ... the round-faced foul-tempered woman ... seemed to have it in for her. The woman continued to lash out at Barb far more often than at anyone else.

I could see that Barb was weakening, probably suffering from dehydration and the cumulative effect of taking so many lashes, and it was obvious that she was no longer holding her own ... her steps were uneven ... she kept dragging one foot ... and I kept thinking she might faint. And sure enough, she did!

She had looked at me just before it happened, exhaustion written all over her face. Then her eyes rolled, she slumped, and her feet went out from under her. Soon the other girls and I were dragging her around as we strained against the spars. Barb was finished, her limp body twisting left and right as she hung from the spar by her wrists. At times she was face up, sometimes face down ... head hanging either backward or forward.

I thought they would surely stop the crusher, that they would beat or whip her, or perhaps carry her away, but instead they just let her drag along, her feet leaving furrowed trails on the dusty floor ... until finally a blast of the whistle signaled a halt for lunch ... the day half done.

They came and released us from the spars, and herded us over to one side of the building where we given a bowl of watery gruel and another slice of the tasteless stale bread we ate for breakfast. But, they left Barb hanging from her spar for a time. Eventually, they went over and released her, letting her drop unconscious to the floor.

Then she was picked up by the wrists and ankles, and hauled over to a heavy post bolted upright to the floor. A pair of manacles dangled from the top of the post. Lifting her, and supporting her limp body in an upright position, they backed her up to the post, locked her wrists in the manacles, and left her there, slumped against the post, head down, chin on her chest.

The whistle blew. Time to return to work. This time the girls of the other detail were assigned to the task of moving the spars, while my detail took its place at the salt chute. Soon the wheels were grinding and I was struggling to lift the heavy chunks of salt from the carts and dump them down the chute. The edges were rough and hard on my bare hands. Some chunks were so heavy that it took two of us to manhandle them to the chute.

As we labored on through the afternoon and into the evening, I kept a watchful eye on Barb, who seemed to regain consciousness after a while, although she made no effort to stand up straight. I was also aware of the fact that the enforcers used their whips more often on the rest of us as the day wore on. We were all tired. The wooden rafters overhead echoed ceaselessly to the crack of the whip and the grunts, moans, and occasional screams of the slave girls.

The whole scene was made worse for me by the fact that one of the enforcers decided to get himself off at Barb's expense. With revulsion I glanced over, between hefting salt chunks, at the man's bare ass moving rhythmically in and out as he pinned her up against the post, spread her thighs and fucked her. The look in her eyes, as her head bobbed up and down, was the most pitiful look I have ever seen.

After what must have been nearly 12 hours of toil under the lash, the whistle blew. Mercifully our shift was over. They formed us up and marched us back into the mine, with the exception of Barb who was left behind. In the "long tunnel" we were lined up as before, and given an evening meal, which looked very much like lunch. I kept looking toward the tunnel entrance, deeply concerned about what they would do with Barb.

Then she appeared, supported between two enforcers. She could hardly walk. They brought her before us and dumped unceremoniously on the floor of the tunnel. Jake came over, the enforcer with the clipboard trailing him, to have a look.

"What's with her?" he asked.

"That one ... number 1492 ... is useless," replied the round-faced enforcer with a sneer. "Don't know where they are getting these new slaves ... they haven't the stamina or discipline to do the work. She didn't even make it to lunch, the worthless little bitch!"

"Alright, we have no need for those who can't do the work. Do with her as you think best," said Jake, shaking his head as he turned abruptly on his heel to leave.

The round-faced monster waited until he had disappeared far down the long tunnel, then she turned to the other enforcers and said, "Come on, let's get her up on the cart over there, and hang her! Good riddance to bad rubbish!"

tibm485_small.jpg
 
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Our own spar resisted our efforts, shuddered, then moved. The hub began slowly to turn. I took a step forward, pushing hard, and glanced at Barb who was putting her back into it too ... leaning forward, arms extended, gripping the spar with both hands ... her hanging breasts swaying and bouncing as we began to pick up speed. Meanwhile, the girls assigned to the other detail began throwing the first chunks of salt down the chute.

Round and round we went. I kept my eyes glued to the undulating buttocks of the girl on the spar ahead of me, and kept pushing. Billowing clouds of white dust rose from the maws of the crusher below. Soon, our sweating, straining torsos were coated with a fine layer. I could taste the salt and my eyes began to sting.
Now we know where salt comes from.:D

salt.jpg
Come on guys .... let's not circle the drain just yet! :confused:
"Come on, let's get her up on the cart over there, and hang her! Good riddance to bad rubbish!"
Watch out, or Barb does not even get the time to circle the drain!:oops:
A good episode, with a good cliffhanger! :)
 
Chapter 2. Breaking in (Patricia 1)

Looking back on my first few weeks in the mines, I have to say that the first day was without a doubt the absolute worst, although that is not to say the long weeks of hard slave labor that followed were not horrific enough.

On that first morning, after a sleepless night ... lying naked on a gritty earthen floor while trying to find a comfortable position with my ankle chain fastened to my neck collar in such a way that my knees were spread and drawn up close to my face ... I was roused by shrill whistles and the day-shift overseer, Jake, bawling "Alright ladies! Time to rise. I trust everyone had a nice snooze. On your backs please, so the enforcers can free your leg shackles!"

I groaned and rolled over on my back, feet in the air. Barb did the same as Jake's "enforcers" ... a half dozen men and women, some of them former slaves, all dressed in khakis and tall black boots ... moved swiftly among their charges, wielding keys to open the locks that secured leg shackles to collars. As soon as mine were freed, I stretched my cramped legs and got shakily to my feet, holding out a hand to help Barb up too.

The entire day shift was herded out into the so-called "long tunnel" for morning roll call. The enforcers lined us up against one wall ... probably about a hundred of us all together ... hands clasped behind our heads. Jake walked slowly down the line ... inspecting each slave. He was followed closely by an enforcer wielding a clip board and duty roster.

The air in the tunnel was chilly. I shivered in my nakedness. Jake made a point of stopping directly in front of Barb and me. He grinned wickedly, jabbed a bony finger at us. Turning to the enforcer with the clipboard ... a balding, thin man with a narrow hatchet-like face ... he said dryly, "Last night's intake. Keep a close tab on these two new bitches!"

The enforcer squinted intently at my collar, and it was then that I learned that each slave was identified by the number engraved on her collar. I watched as he entered the number 1491 on the roster, and then 1492 for Barb. Glancing up at us, he said before moving on, "You two are assigned to 'Detail D'. Remember that!"

Farther down the line there was a bit of a commotion. Two of the girls appeared to be sick. One could barely stand; the other had collapsed in a heap on the ground. A heavy-set female enforcer with a round ugly face, squat pitted nose, and apparently a very bad temper, was trying to get the poor wretch on the ground to stand up by thrashing her soundly with a short whip.

"Do we have a problem here?" asked Jake, standing hands on hips behind the female enforcer.

"Too weak to work!" reported the round-faced enforcer. "They've both been at it too long; they be giving out on us from the looks of it."

"Alright, the intake last night brought in two fresh slaves. Enough to replace them. You know what to do. These two are expendable."

He walked away, and while we all ... that is, the entire shift ... watched, the enforcers dragged the two unfortunates over to the far side of the tunnel, hoisted them up onto one of the carts used for hauling away debris and salt, pulled down a pair of nooses dangling from pulleys bolted to the tunnel supports overhead, slipped the nooses over their heads and tightened them around their necks.

The girl who was more with it began to struggle, whining and begging for mercy, but a moment later the cart was pulled away, and the two of them stepped off into thin air. There was collective gasp from those of us standing along the wall as the enforcers backed away, leaving the two unfortunates hanging by the neck, toes about a foot off the ground, making hideous gurgling, gasping sounds, and kicking helplessly as they slowly rotated round and round at the end of a rope.

"Oh shit!" whispered Barb, nudging me with her elbow.

I was too shocked to respond. I just stared at the hapless pair as their faces turned purplish red, their kicking slowed and then stopped, and their tongues protruded. I felt sick and wanted to puke, though my stomach was empty.

Then, as if on cue, the enforcers came down the line with breakfast, which consisted of a bowl filled with some kind of porridge and half slice of stale bread. We squatted against the tunnel wall and ate. After the bowls were collected, we were sent off to work ... one detail at a time.

When they called 'Detail D', Barb and I responded ... getting up to join a half dozen other women who were gathering at the end of the tunnel. Jake, along with the enforcer carrying the clipboard, were already there, as was the round-faced mean one. We were told that 'Detail D' was to work the "crusher" that day. The detail was formed up two-by-two and marched out of the mine and into the crushing shed, a large wooden structure located just outside the entrance.

In the center of the crushing shed stood a large wooden hub, with four long protruding spars. At the base of the hub, a series of gears and a shaft led to a pair of big grinding stones in the space below. Off to one side was a long chute, and another detail of slaves stood ready at the top of the chute to toss huge chunks of white salt from carts into the jaws of the crusher below. Our detail's task was to provide the power to turn the grindstones by putting our backs into moving the long spars round and round.

Barb and I were instructed to take up positions at one of the spars, she on the inside, and I on the outside. To keep us at our appointed work stations, our shackled wrists were secured to metal rings bolted to the spar. Once our detail was in place, an enforcer climbed up on a raised platform, put a whistle to his lips, and blew.

Within seconds a whiplash broke across my back. I jumped, let out a scream, and leaned into it, pushing hard against the spar with all I had. The sharp cracking and hissing sounds of more whip lashes echoed off the ceiling. Barb yelped as she got hers. Others grunted or cursed. Everyone received one. I noted the thin red line that appeared on the bare back one of the straining girls pushing on the spar ahead of ours ... and imagined that there would be more to come before this was over.

Our own spar resisted our efforts, shuddered, then moved. The hub began slowly to turn. I took a step forward, pushing hard, and glanced at Barb who was putting her back into it too ... leaning forward, arms extended, gripping the spar with both hands ... her hanging breasts swaying and bouncing as we began to pick up speed. Meanwhile, the girls assigned to the other detail began throwing the first chunks of salt down the chute.

Round and round we went. I kept my eyes glued to the undulating buttocks of the girl on the spar ahead of me, and kept pushing. Billowing clouds of white dust rose from the maws of the crusher below. Soon, our sweating, straining torsos were coated with a fine layer. I could taste the salt and my eyes began to sting.

More lashes were meted out to keep us moving ... the salt adding to the fiery pain on my back. Two enforcers were stationed on opposite sides to lash out at us whenever they thought they detected a slackening of effort. By the time the whistle blew to signal a break, I reckoned we had been working for two or three hours, and that I had taken a half dozen lashes.

The crusher ground to a halt. I leaned wearily against the spar. Barb placed her head on the wood and closed her eyes. I looked at her with pity in my eyes. Her back was raw, crisscrossed with red lines. She had taken more lashes than I had ... perhaps three or four times as many, and had suffered a lot already.

One of the enforcers came around with a bucket of water and a ladle. I drank greedily, water sloshing down my chin and running in rivulets over my salt-covered chest. No water was offered to Barb who seemed only semi-conscious.

Then the whistle sounded again. I felt the whoosh of a lash slicing through the air just behind my ear. It was meant for Barb, who threw her head back, twisted half way about, screamed and fell to her knees. This was followed by an angry shout. A second lash broke across my daughter's bare back. She struggled to regain her footing and leaned into the the spar just as it began to move. We were underway again.

As we strained to turn the crusher, I began to worry about Barb. The heat had built up in the shed to the point where the air was stifling. She hadn't had anything to drink, and one of the enforcers ... the round-faced foul-tempered woman ... seemed to have it in for her. The woman continued to lash out at Barb far more often than at anyone else.

I could see that Barb was weakening, probably suffering from dehydration and the cumulative effect of taking so many lashes, and it was obvious that she was no longer holding her own ... her steps were uneven ... she kept dragging one foot ... and I kept thinking she might faint. And sure enough, she did!

She had looked at me just before it happened, exhaustion written all over her face. Then her eyes rolled, she slumped, and her feet went out from under her. Soon the other girls and I were dragging her around as we strained against the spars. Barb was finished, her limp body twisting left and right as she hung from the spar by her wrists. At times she was face up, sometimes face down ... head hanging either backward or forward.

I thought they would surely stop the crusher, that they would beat or whip her, or perhaps carry her away, but instead they just let her drag along, her feet leaving furrowed trails on the dusty floor ... until finally a blast of the whistle signaled a halt for lunch ... the day half done.

They came and released us from the spars, and herded us over to one side of the building where we given a bowl of watery gruel and another slice of the tasteless stale bread we ate for breakfast. But, they left Barb hanging from her spar for a time. Eventually, they went over and released her, letting her drop unconscious to the floor.

Then she was picked up by the wrists and ankles, and hauled over to a heavy post bolted upright to the floor. A pair of manacles dangled from the top of the post. Lifting her, and supporting her limp body in an upright position, they backed her up to the post, locked her wrists in the manacles, and left her there, slumped against the post, head down, chin on her chest.

The whistle blew. Time to return to work. This time the girls of the other detail were assigned to the task of moving the spars, while my detail took its place at the salt chute. Soon the wheels were grinding and I was struggling to lift the heavy chunks of salt from the carts and dump them down the chute. The edges were rough and hard on my bare hands. Some chunks were so heavy that it took two of us to manhandle them to the chute.

As we labored on through the afternoon and into the evening, I kept a watchful eye on Barb, who seemed to regain consciousness after a while, although she made no effort to stand up straight. I was also aware of the fact that the enforcers used their whips more often on the rest of us as the day wore on. We were all tired. The wooden rafters overhead echoed ceaselessly to the crack of the whip and the grunts, moans, and occasional screams of the slave girls.

The whole scene was made worse for me by the fact that one of the enforcers decided to get himself off at Barb's expense. With revulsion I glanced over, between hefting salt chunks, at the man's bare ass moving rhythmically in and out as he pinned her up against the post, spread her thighs and fucked her. The look in her eyes, as her head bobbed up and down, was the most pitiful look I have ever seen.

After what must have been nearly 12 hours of toil under the lash, the whistle blew. Mercifully our shift was over. They formed us up and marched us back into the mine, with the exception of Barb who was left behind. In the "long tunnel" we were lined up as before, and given an evening meal, which looked very much like lunch. I kept looking toward the tunnel entrance, deeply concerned about what they would do with Barb.

Then she appeared, supported between two enforcers. She could hardly walk. They brought her before us and dumped unceremoniously on the floor of the tunnel. Jake came over, the enforcer with the clipboard trailing him, to have a look.

"What's with her?" he asked.

"That one ... number 1492 ... is useless," replied the round-faced enforcer with a sneer. "Don't know where they are getting these new slaves ... they haven't the stamina or discipline to do the work. She didn't even make it to lunch, the worthless little bitch!"

"Alright, we have no need for those who can't do the work. Do with her as you think best," said Jake, shaking his head as he turned abruptly on his heel to leave.

The round-faced monster waited until he had disappeared far down the long tunnel, then she turned to the other enforcers and said, "Come on, let's get her up on the cart over there, and hang her! Good riddance to bad rubbish!"
Loving the detail as usual and nice to see your creative writing again.
 
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