Mara bit her lip, her mouth going dry, her heart fluttering with confused fear. What the hell was he saying?
“Repeat after me, zero: I exist to serve, to suffer, to please and obey. I am a cunt, a piece of ass. I am the property of Pirate Island.” He was glaring at her. He raised his hand as if about to strike her.
Quickly, Mara tried to recite the hateful words. “I exist to serve, to suffer, to…”
“To please and obey,” Alex prompted. “Go on. Say it. All of it.”
“To please and obey,” Mara parroted. “I am, I… I can’t remember what you said.”
Alex struck her then, a hard backhand to her face that knocked her back onto her heels. With a cry, she brought her hand to her stinging cheek.
“Kneel up, hands behind your back,” Alex shouted.
Quickly, Mara struggled into position.
“Repeat after me,” he said in a hard voice. “And pay attention this time. This is your mantra. You will say it again and again and again, until you learn not only the words, but the truth behind them. ‘I exist to serve, to suffer, to please and obey. I am a cunt, a piece of ass. I am the property of Pirate Island.’”
“I exist to serve, to suffer, to please and obey,” Mara said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“Louder,” Alex barked. “Go on.”
“I am a, a cunt,” Mara winced, forcing herself to speak louder, “a piece of ass. I am the property of Pirate Island.”
“That’s correct. Say it again.”
Mara repeated the hateful words, forcing them past the lump of fear that had risen in her throat.
“Again.”
Again she said the words, telling herself they had no meaning. They were just syllables, sounds she was forced to utter, with no connection to herself.
“This time get on your feet. Stand at attention. I want you to shout the words so anyone within hearing range will know what you are, zero.”
Tears blinding her vision, Mara rose to her feet. “I exist to serve, to suffer, to please and obey,” she shouted, her face blazing. “I am a cunt, a piece of ass. I am the property of Pirate Island.”
“Louder.”
Crying now, Mara yelled the words.
Alex nodded with a look of grim satisfaction. “That’s correct. You are a cunt and a piece of ass. You are property, zero. I sense the insincerity in your tone, but that will change. I promise you, that will change. You will come to embrace the words you say. You will take them into your heart and your bones. You will learn that you belong to this island and, more specifically, to me. Together we will wipe those evil toxins of resistance from your mind and body. I will purge you with daily training and conditioning. I will scour you clean of self-will and disobedience. For now, let’s begin with the first part of the declaration. Specifically that you exist to serve and to suffer. I want you to suffer now. I want you to ask for it. Ask me now, zero. Ask me to slap you across the face.”
“What?” Mara took a step back, her hands fluttering of their own accord to her cheeks, the right one still stinging from his blow.
“Are you deaf?” Alex rose menacingly from his chair. “Ask me to slap you across the face. And address me properly while you do it.”
Mara looked wildly around her, as if someone might appear along the shore to save her, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. Alex was glaring at her, something crazy in those icy eyes. Her voice shaking, Mara said, “P-please, sir, please slap me across the face.”
“What? I couldn’t hear you.”
“Please, sir”—Mara forced herself to speak louder—“please slap me across the face.”
He struck her other cheek with his open hand. Tears sprang to her eyes, her ear ringing from the blow. “Ask me again. Tell me to do it harder.”
“Oh, god,” she whimpered.
“Do it.” His voice was like iron. “Or you’ll get much, much worse than a slap.”
“Please, sir,” Mara willed herself to say, believing his threat, “please slap me across the face. Harder.”
The backhanded blow caught her hard across the jaw, sending her stumbling back with a cry. Alex moved with her, catching her by the collar, looping his finger through an O-ring and yanking her toward him. Without releasing the ring, he said in a soft, dangerous voice, “Ask me again. Keep asking me until I tell you to stop.”
“Please, Alex, I can’t—”
“No,” he cut in, his voice a dagger slicing through her senses. “You can. You will. Ask me to slap you. Ask me again and again and again until it pleases me to stop.”
Mara swallowed hard. This couldn’t last forever. Eventually he would tire of the game. He had to. Just get it over with. Do as he says. “Please, sir. Please slap me harder.”