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For Katie and Jia Li the final of the walk through the rainforest seemed
endless. Both women were utterly
exhausted from the ordeals they had been put
through. In addition, they had
been given no water on the last leg of the march and the tremendous tropical
heat and humidity had left them quite
dehydrated. They were entering
the Ullabomba city. It was not
what Katie and Jia Li had expected. They had thought they would find a typical African village
of mud huts. What they were
entering instead was quite different.
They entered the city through ae gate set in an impressive stone
wall. Black soldiers patrolled
the top of the wall and the gate towers flanking the
entrance. Large numbers of Ullabomba
men, women, and even children were moving in and out of the
city. Once past the gate Katie and Jia Li found themselves walking
through a well-laid out city of stone
buildings. The city appeared to be set out in a grid
pattern. Smaller buildings that
appeared to be houses and shops were closest to the
street. Much larger buildings
were set back from the streets, some of them reaching a height of several
stories.
Although both women were on the point of collapse, they still had
enough of their powers of observation to note that the Ullabomba city probably
numbered several thousand people.
Here and there among the black population the women noticed the presence
of whites, both males and females.
Like the Ullabomba, they wore no clothing of any sort, save belts
or straps to carry tools, or personal
items. They seemed to be primarily
engaged in menial tasks and it soon became apparent that most if not all
of the whites were probably slaves.
The two exhausted women were herded down a side street and into a
large building with bars on the windows.
Inside they entered a long corridor with tiny rooms along each
side. All
of the doorways were sealed off by heavy wooden
doors. It was obvious that this
building served as a prison.
One of their captors spoke briefly with a man who appeared to be
a guard. The guard nodded and
motioned for the two women to move farther down the
hall. Wearily, Jia Li and Katie plodded in the direction
indicated. By now, Katie was
barely able to stand, and Jia Li was not in much better
shape. Only by an effort of
will were they still able to stay on their
feet. They were finally directed
into a larger room near the end of the
hall. Inside were several naked
white women. As Jia Li and Katie
staggered into the room, the women came
forward. The guard said something
and then left.
Katie was on the verge of collapse, but before her buckling knees
could fail her, the women surrounded both her and Jia Li and helped them
over to a stone bench. For the
first time in hours they were allowed to sit.
The women swarmed around them.
They produced cool water-soaked cloths and thoroughly washed away
the grime and filth that covered most of Jia Li’s and Katie’s
bodies. Then they produced clay
beakers containing drinking water and brought in bowls of fruit and what
appeared to be some sort of porridge.
Somewhat recovered by the refreshing bath, the two women ate and drank
until they were full. Then,
completely worn out, they were led over to a large cot where they were allowed
to lie down. Within seconds,
both women dropped off into a sleep so deep that it resembled a
coma.
They were kept in the prison for
several days. During that time
both women were treated well. It
appeared that their captors wanted them to be in good shape for whatever
was planned for them. Katie
found the improved treatment almost as disturbing as the brutality that had
been visited upon them by their captors.
She suspected that they were being prepared for something, but she
was not sure what it was. On
the fourth night of their
imprisonment they went to sleep with these questions unanswered, but apprehensive
about what the following day might bring.
The next morning Jia Li awoke
first. It was pitch black in
the room, but outside she could hear people
stirring. She
shivered. The room had cooled off considerably during the
night. Since the simple cot
she and Katie shared had no blanket, she cuddled against the other woman
for warmth. Katie moaned slightly
at the contact, but continued to sleep.
Jia Li did not awaken her.
She was quite sure that both she and Katie would need as much rest
as they could get. She drifted
off to sleep again, but was awakened suddenly when the door of the room swung
open and several Ullabomba armed with spears and bows and arrows entered
the room. One of them was the
black warrior the others had called
“Kinsa.” Immediately
two of the warriors trained their bows on the two
women. Katie was now awake.
Both women sat up as the guards
approached. The two women exchanged
a quick glance. The same thought
raced through their minds. Should they resist?
Katie shook her head
slightly. Jia Li
nodded. The situation was
hopeless. Neither of them had
fully recovered from the ordeal of being captured and
raped. In addition, they were
in the middle of a large city full of thousands of
enemies. Escape from the room
they were in might be possible, but there was little chance that they could
fight their way out of the building and through the crowd of Ullabomba soldiers
they had seen. They resigned
themselves to their fate. There
would be opportunity for escape later.
They would have to bide their time.
One of the blacks approached carrying
several lengths of chain. Quickly
he fastened a metal collar about the neck of each
woman. A crude padlock closed
the collar and also connected a length of chain linking them
together. The black then manacled their arms at the elbows so that
their hands were free, but their elbows were pulled toward the middle of
their backs by a length of chain connecting each
shackle. Although all of the
locks holding the manacles and chains in place were quite crude, it would
be no easy matter to escape from their restraints
quickly.
Once secured, the two women were
herded out of the room and back into the
corridor. They were then escorted
to the outside of the building and directed toward the center of the
city. They passed between a
series of large and impressive
buildings. As they got closer
to the middle of the Ullabomba city the buildings became larger and more
ornate. Katie was hard put to
place the architecture. It seemed
to be a combination of ancient Egyptian, Greek, and African
styles. Great columns flanked
the front of the buildings. They
were decorated with a huge array of African animals, which were both carved
into the fronts of the buildings and painted on the stone.
Suddenly, the narrow street down
which they had been walking opened out into a huge
square. Imposing buildings enclosed
the square on every side. The
open space was crowded with people, most of them Ullabomba, along with a
number of white slaves. They
were hustled through the crowd of people to the very center of the square,
where stood a large stone platform.
On top of the platform, about ten feet from the ground were about
a hundred white captives, surrounded by about fifty Ullabomba guards armed
with spears.
Near the edge of the platform wearing
a long cape studded with gold was an imposing Ullabomba
warrior. He was older than most
of the blacks that Katie and Jia Li had observed and was the only one they
had seen wearing anything resembling
clothing. The two women recognized
the purpose of the gathering at once.
It was a slave action.
Katie and Jia Li were the last of
the slaves to arrive. Kinsa
took their arms and directed them onto the
platform. As soon as they took
their places the robed warrior raised his
arms. Immediately a hush fell
over the crowd. The auctioneer
(for that was what Katie and Jia Li judged him to be) gave a short speech
and then pointed to one of the white slaves on the
platform. The black guards brought
a young man forward. Shouts
from the crowd indicated that the bidding had
begun. The auctioneer repeated
each bid until finally the young man was auctioned
off. Then the process was repeated
with the next slave.
The men and boys were auctioned off
first. The least impressive
specimens went first and the stronger and taller men
last. Then the bidding for the
women began. It followed a pattern
identical to that of the men.
Those who were judged least attractive or least healthy went first.
Then the bidding got around to the most attractive
women. About a dozen fell into
this category, including Jia Li and
Katie. Here the bidding halted
for a few minutes. By this time
only the wealthiest bidders remained and they were allowed to mount the platform
and inspect the merchandise they were about to bid on.
The bidders were none too subtle
about their inspection. They
touched and fondled the helpless, naked
women. There was little any
of them could do about it. Most
of the women on the platform were too terrified to resist, and the two who
might have fought back, Katie and Jia Li, were so heavily shackled that they
could offer no resistance. As
a result Katie and Jia Li were forced to tolerate the caressing and squeezing
of their breasts, buttocks, and other parts of their bodies by more than
two dozen blacks.
At last the auction
resumed. The women were auctioned
off one by one in quite spirited bidding until only Jia Li and Katie
remained. There was little to
choose between the two gorgeous females, but Katie was judged the most desirable
and auctioned last.
The bidding for Jia Li was fast and
furious and although neither woman could understand anything of what was
being said, it was obvious that her price was rising higher that that of
any previous slave. Eventually
the bidding came down to three determined
competitors. Here the auctioneer
slowed his conduct of the auction.
He encouraged the bidders to stay in the contest by obviously praising
the qualities Jia Li’s perfect body, occasionally touching her to point
out particularly attractive
qualities. Finally only
two bidders remained and then only one.
Jia Li had been purchased.
The chain connecting her to Katie was unlocked and she was led off
the platform. As she went she
turned back to Katie. “I
will find you,” she said. Her
buyer jerked sharply on her chain, reminding her that she was now his
property. Communication between
slaves was not allowed.
Now it was Katie’s
turn. Like that for Jia Li the
bidding was energetic and lengthy.
But eventually she too found herself led off the platform by her new
master. What would the future
hold for her? Would she ever
see Jia Li again? In a sort
of daze the beautiful blonde was marched off into
servitude.
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