are about the same.”
“Any idea of how long they intend to keep us, or who they are?” Constance asked.
The faces of the other three darkened.
“I don’t know anyone in the organization except Robert,” Madge went on. “And as to how long . . . well, until somebody pays a high enough price to get a girl he can kill, and then they choose one of us and that’s the end of it.”
Constance felt a knot in her stomach begin to tighten and burn.
“You can’t be serious,” she said.
“I’ve already seen one go. A nice kid, too. Name of Wendy. They told her it was her time, and she cried and screamed but they dragged her away, and she’s never come back.”
“Oh my God,” said Constance, the true horror of her condition beginning to sink in. “What can we do?”
“Forget it,” Sheila put in. “When you get a chance to walk around, you’ll see how impossible it is to even think of getting out. A sheer four-hundred-foot drop in front. A twenty-five-foot wall around the other three sides. And dogs and guards and invisible electronic screens.”
“I ran into one of those,” said Sally. “I was walking on the other side of the garden and all of a sudden bells started to ring and in about ten seconds I was surrounded by three men with rifles.”
“So it’s a prison,” Constance said.
“And we all have the death sentence,” Sally added, and with those words lost her composure and burst into tears.
Madge immediately leaned over and slapped her hard across the face. Constance was stunned by the action. But Sally stopped crying at once.
“It’s a pact we’ve made,” Madge explained. “The one thing that will destroy us faster than anything else is self-pity. So if anyone sees it in anyone else, the others are authorized to step in and stop it.”
Constance’s eyes lit up. The feeling of camaraderie was infectious and she found herself, in this most bleak of all circumstances, smiling broadly.
“I know this is weird,” she said, “but I’m really happy to be with you ladies. I read about you and wondered about you, and even though it will probably cost me my neck, it’s good to see you and feel the strength you’ve acquired.”
As she spoke, Madge held out a slip of paper which she motioned toward Constance, and at the same time held one finger to her lips. As Constance read the note, Madge said, “Well, since it’s hopeless that we’ll ever get out of here, the only thing we can do is to keep up our good humor. And, in between sessions, we’re treated pretty well. I mean, it could be worse.”
The note read: “The room is probably bugged. In a minute I’ll suggest that we have an orgy, and once that gets started I can tell you more from behind the moans and groans.”
Constance was completely taken aback. The note itself sent a shiver down her spine because, despite the fact that she was in a life-and-death situation anyway, the notion of revolt scared her. But the way in which the orgy had been so casually suggested was equally astounding. Constance had never had relations with a woman in her life. She had never even fantasized about it.
“It’s getting warm in here,” Madge said in a loud voice. “Do you mind if I take these things off?”
“No, go right ahead,” Constance found herself saying. “And you two can make yourselves comfortable too.”
The three women shrugged out of their various robes and panties and shorts. Constance held her breath. She had never seen so many naked cunts and bare tits in her life. The sight, however, was not nearly as powerful as the scent. Deep, musky, female, the trapped odors from between their thighs and breasts filled the air and the room became heavy with the smell of womanhood.
Madge winked at her.
“Oh, I’m a little weary,” she said in the same stage voice. “Do you mind if I lie down?”
Constance shifted her body a little to one side. She was surprised to notice that she was perspiring lightly. The oddity of the