Chapter 127: For a drink of water

Pulling him back, she held him steady when she saw he was about to topple over.

“Let me go!” he yelled, shrugging off the woman’s hand. “What’s your problem?”

He turned to the woman, his eyes red with anger.

“Are you stupid? They offer you a little water, and you’re willing to join whatever their supposed base is?” Her arms akimbo, she leaned forward slightly, tilting her head.

“What’s it to you? If I want to be kidnapped, I’ll be kidnapped on my own terms.” He turned his back to her. “Don’t play hero with me. Find someone else.”

Turning to Ivan and Cassia, he said, “If you want me to dance naked on the street, riding a broom, and wearing a fedora, I’ll do it for some food and water.”

Ivan and Cassia did not respond immediately. This made the man anxious.

“You can cripple me, just feed me. I will give you blood. Do you want my kidney?”

His eyes were pleading. Ivan and Cassia wondered if the outside was so cruel that people were willing to give up their organs for some food. The man opened his mouth again when he didn’t get an answer.

Ivan raised a hand. “Stop! I don’t want your kidney. I don’t need your blood, and you’re useless if crippled.” He observed both people. “All we want is to find people to join our base. Food and water aren’t a problem. What might be a problem is what you need to do when you get there.”

Ivan paused. He was not afraid they would refuse. The man was willing to cripple himself for food and water. I think sex isn’t high on the list of things he won’t do. As for the woman, she had been standing there, looking offended, but she hadn’t actually left.

That told him two things. She was just as desperate as the man was. And it would be really easy to get people to the base if it only took a little food and water.

The biggest problem was their character. But that could be solved with one pulse.

“Tell me,” the man asked quickly.

“You need to have sex,” Ivan replied plainly.

Both the man and woman were stunned by his request. They had expected to almost have to sell themselves for some food and water. But he asked them to have sex?

The woman was the first to react.

“What?! What kind of fucked up place are you trying to get people to join?!”

Her shrill voice caused others nearby to look over. These people had smelled the food before. But were more cautious than the man and woman. They pretended to be hovering around.

Not actually approaching the door. They wanted to see how things would play out for the two people. Now hearing the woman’s voice, they couldn’t help but look over.

“I’ll do it!” the man shouted joyously. He jumped out of his shock because of the woman’s voice. He was sure that he heard correctly.

His eyes went to Cassia when he thought about it.

“Hey! Keep your eyes to yourself.” Ivan had no problems sharing Cassia with the other six, but he had taken to keeping Cassia to himself. Someone as pliant as her is hard to find.

“Are you kidding me?” the woman chimed in. “You’re trading food for sex. We aren’t prostitutes.”

Ivan glanced at her. “If you want to be a prostitute, that’s your own business. We are all consenting adults. Just because we ask you to have sex doesn’t mean you have to. It’s the way the base works.”

“We enjoy having sex with each other. But we also take care of the base. There are still daily tasks to be done. Cleaning, guard duty, training, admin. These are all things the base still needs people to do.”

“What you do with your private time is your own. But sex is a must. Whether you have it outside, in a garden, or on a ceiling. We don’t give you a sex schedule. You only need to express your own sexual freedom.”

“Count me in!” came a voice from outside.

It was one of the people who had been eavesdropping. They had seen the door open. They saw all the things inside. The tables, chairs, and desks. They all appeared new. The people inside were clean and well fed.

They looked nothing like people who had been going through the hardship of the apocalypse. The woman who shouted thought that if she could go with them, she might be able to look like them, too.

Maybe she could find a man to take care of her. Her eyes slid to Ivan’s hand around Cassia’s waist.

As soon as the woman made her choice known, others started shouting that they wanted to join.

Ivan waved his hand, trying to quiet them down. But the noise was too loud. He rubbed his temple and reached behind him.

“Shut up!” he said, pointing a gun at them. As if someone had hit a pause button, the sound stopped abruptly.

“For fuck sake, you’re loud.”He took a deep breath and spoke. “Now listen, we can only take thirty people today. We’ll be back tomorrow, but that’s our limit for today.”

He pointed the gun at the man who wanted a drink of water. “You, come over, sit in that chair.” Seeing him sit, he looked at the others, “Now, we only need 29. Make a line. No pushing, no showing.”

The woman who had shrieked earlier was at the front of the line. Her lips were pursed.

Ivan smirked. “I thought you weren’t a prostitute?”

She said nothing. Only stepping inside to sit beside the thirsty man.

One by one, people filed in until there were thirty people.

“Thank you all for coming. We’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Before anyone could protest, Ivan slammed the door in their faces. He turned to the 30 people in the room.

He put the gun back in its holster, walked to his desk, and picked up a pulse button.

“Now, let’s begin…”

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