Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
“He’s a nice guy, okay? Well, if not nice exactly, he’s at least not a rapist,” Penny said quickly. “He promised not to…do that to me if I didn’t want him to.”
“Listen, he may be nice but he’s not doing you any favors refusing to breed you,” Claudette lectured. “Sooner or later you’re going to get pulled into the Breeding and Conception Center for another womb check. And if they find that you’re not pregnant and that you don’t even have any signs of male seed inside you, you’re going to be in deep trouble!”
“Well excuse me for not wanting to get raped!” Penny cried.
“Shhh!” Claudette hissed angrily. She looked all around them, but there was no one in sight. “Look, I’m just trying to warn you. You’re already in trouble. I mean, you think you got the Marketplace as your job assignment by some random choice? This is a punishment assignment, Penny!”
“What? How can that be?” Penny frowned. “What’s so bad about baking and selling bread all day? I’ve always wanted to learn how to make sourdough.”
“Think about it—it’s not just about baking and selling—it’s about being out in the open where any man who wants to can grab you during a Public Mandatory Breeding!” Claudette exclaimed.
“They can?” Penny was horrified. “But I thought only your Forever Mate was supposed to do that!”
“Except during a Public Breeding,” Claudette emphasized. “The Glorious Leader likes to shake things up. Also, the Public Breedings are how he keeps the male breeders from getting bored with the Forever Mate he assigned them. Even if the relationship gets stale, they always know that pretty soon, they’ll have a chance to try some fresh meat. And—listen to me Penny—right now, you are on the chopping block!”
Penny felt cold all over. She crossed her arms over her leaking breasts and shivered.
“You don’t think they’ll have one today, do you? A Public Breeding, I mean?” she asked, barely forcing the words out.
“Who knows?” Claudette shrugged. “They did a lot of them in the week before the Unification Ceremony so they might hold off for a while. The only time you can be sure there’s going to be one is when they bring a fresh crop of breeders in they captured from Hell’s Gate. The Glorious Leader always likes to show off for the new breeders—let them know what’s in store for them.”
“But…I don’t want some stranger grabbing me and…and…” But Penny couldn’t go on.
“Then you’ve got to straighten up, like I said,” Claudette said, frowning. “Start acting like you belong here. Conform, Penny. And that means that tonight you go back to your Love Hut and get that big, scary-looking Forever Mate of yours to breed you properly and suck the nectar out of your breasts. If you start acting like a good little breeder, you might get transferred out of the Marketplace before the next Public Breeding.”
“But…what if I don’t get transferred?” Penny asked, her throat tight.
Claudette shrugged.
“Then you’ve got to just grin and bear it. I worked at the Marketplace for a time, when I first came here,” she added, a bitter look passing over her face. “I went through seventeen Public Breedings. Seventeen. And sometimes as soon as one male was finished with me another would take his place. And then another and another…” She shook her head and looked at Penny. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Nothing at all? What if you hide?” Penny protested.
Claudette shook her head.
“If they catch you hiding or running away when a male grabs you, you’re automatically recycled—resisting during a Public Breeding is the surest way to prove you’re not really hypnotized.”
“It is?” Penny whispered, putting a hand to her throat.
Claudette nodded.
“You’ll see what I mean if you see one—the minute the call goes out over the speakercons, all the female breeders come out of their shops and stalls specifically to make themselves available to the males. And believe me, the males come from all over, straight to the Marketplace the minute they hear the call,” she added grimly. “So if the Glorious Leader calls for a Public Breeding while you’re working in the bread stall, you’ve just got to take it.”
Penny honestly didn’t know if she could submit to letting some strange man—or men—rape her. Not even to save her own life.
“I might rather be recycled,” she whispered, not sure if she was talking to herself or to Claudette. “I might rather die than let…let that happen.”
“I thought that too, at first,” her friend said grimly. “But you’d be amazed how strong the will to survive is. You find you’ll do anything—endure anything—just to keep drawing your next breath.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I don’t understand it myself.”
“I still want to get out of here,” Penny told her in a low voice. “I think I might really have a chance. Do…do you want to try and come with me?”