My Swedish Vacation    Chapter 18
by valerafon
Sarina takes Jim to Munson's Swamp.


This is a work of fiction and should not be read by anyone under the 
age of eighteen. Please do not read further if you are offended by 
violence and or sexual content.


Chapter  18     Munson's Swamp

I awoke to the screeching of a bird. It was flying directly over our 
boat making an unbelievable ruckus. I barely had time to focus on it 
when it's flight was intercepted by a large hawk. The hawk deftly 
plucked the bird out of mid-air and flew back to its own roost 
carrying its prey in its talons. I followed the flight of the hawk 
for a few moments then looked at Sarina. She was watching me 
intently instead of the game of death being played out overhead.

She gave me that all-knowing smile of hers and said in an even tone, 
"Survival of the fittest, Jim."

She was in the bow of the boat guiding us through another maze of  
trees. I didn't answer her, but I understood her meaning. 

Instead, I tried to clear the cobwebs out my head. It had been late 
morning when I fell asleep, but I could tell from the angle of the 
sun that I must have slept for several hours. It was already well 
into the afternoon. I also noticed that the channel had narrowed 
considerably once again and directly in our path was the thickest 
maze of cypress trees that we had yet encountered. 

As we progressed deeper into the maze, the sun disappeared overhead 
entirely and the light level was reduced to almost twilight. It also 
seemed like the character and nature of the swamp changed as well. 
An eerie quiet overtook us and I felt an ominous feeling of great 
foreboding fill me with apprehension. This feeling manifested itself 
in my actions. I nervously looked from side-to-side as Sarina slowly 
but deftly navigated us through the trees. I could tell she was 
still watching me closely and that maddening smile of hers returned.

Finally she addressed me again, "Well sleepyhead, we're just about 
to enter Munson's Swamp. Are you excited?"

"What's there?" I asked incredulously. This place she had taken me 
too had to be one of the most god-forsaken places on the planet.

Sarina's smile broadened noticeably as she regarded me. It was a 
moment or two before she replied to my question.

"Answers!" she replied.

"Answers?" I shot back.

"You'll soon understand everything."

"Can't you explain everything now?" I asked in a frustrated voice.

She thought about my question, but something up ahead caught her 
attention. Instead of answering my question, she pointed and said, 
"look!"

I followed the direction of her finger to a small island in the 
middle of the bayou. It couldn't have been more than five feet 
across. In the middle of the small island was a dead tree. On a 
piece of wood nailed to the tree were the words Munson's Swamp. 
Below the first sign was another more chilling one. It read gateway 
to hell!

I stared at the signs for what seemed like an eternity and then I 
turned back towards Sarina and asked in an even more exasperated 
tone, "And all my questions are going to be answered in this place?"

Sarina gave me another evil little smile and said, "Uh huh!"

As we glided past the island, I shook my head in disgust thinking 
about her enigmatic reply, but something caught my attention. 
Someone had laid a couple of skulls at the base of the tree. I could 
tell that they were human even in the dim light. I quickly glanced 
up at Sarina and her evil little smile broadened once again.

I was about to ask her if there were cannibals nearby, but then I 
realized the skulls had been placed here as a warning designed to 
keep people out. It would have worked on me, but I wasn't captain of 
this boat. Sarina ignored the warning as if it wasn't there, and 
continued piloting the boat deeper into Munson's Swamp and closer to 
the answers I desperately needed.

------------------------------------ 


Eva had been staring at the Cajun man for the last five minutes. 
There was something different about him, but she couldn't quite put 
her finger on it. Then it finally came to her. He had been 
uncharacteristically quiet for the last hour. His incessant 
jabbering had ended sometime before noon. Just then, a strange 
thought crossed her mind as she continued to regard the man. Did she 
really miss his incessant caterwauling? Her mind wouldn't let her 
dwell on that question. Instead, she focused on his demeanor. 

Ron had been ignoring Eva's appraisal and had politely answered all 
of Brome's inquires as he maneuvered the boat down stream. Another 
tell-tale sign that something was up. Eva checked his face once 
again, but couldn't find a trace of worry or concern there. His face 
was as stoic as ever. Yet, Eva sensed something was about to happen.

She really didn't have long to wait either. All at once, Ron cut the 
motor, it became very quiet, and the boat continued to glide along 
without power in the calm water of the bayou.

The two women looked at one another for an answer then at Ron. 
Simultaneously both women blurted out, "What's up?"

Ron shook his head in disgust and glowered at the floorboards for a 
moment, but finally answered, "No Man's Landing is just ahead."

"Then why are we stopping?" Brome inquired.

"Got to change places. It wouldn't look right if I was guiding the 
boat."

This time it was Eva who asked.  "Why?" she said in a perplexed 
voice.

The Cajun Man moved carefully away from the stern, swore under his 
breath, and motioned for Brome to take the tiller. But he did manage 
to answer Eva's question. 

"Because were near No Man's Landing," he said as if that would 
explain everything.

Brome scooted over and took the tiller.

Eva continued the inquiry. "That's no answer," she said, "why must 
Brome guide the boat?"

Ron muttered under his breath. It sounded like he said dumb 
foreigners or something to that effect. At the same time he was 
looking through the supplies for something. When he found it, he 
looked up and said in an uncharacteristically strained voice, 
"Because customs are different there. Men go in there, but they 
don't come out."

"What?" Brome exclaimed.

Eva was only partially listening, she had become completely                      
engrossed in Ron's manipulation of the rope, and she still couldn't 
figure out what he was doing with it. Finally, it became apparent, 
to both Eva and her sister, that he was fashioning a noose.

Ron looked up from his work and in a calmer voice explained further.

"No Man's Landing is run by women. I've known a lot of men who have 
gone there, but none have ever returned." 

"Sounds like a city on the cutting edge of the new millennium. In 
other words, my kind of town," Eva said jovially.

Ron didn't answer, but did manage to throw a scowl in Eva's 
direction. In another minute, he had finished the noose and to the 
two sisters complete surprise, he immediately put it over his head 
and tightened the knot. As the two sisters looked on completely 
dumbfounded, he threw the loose end over to Brome.  At the same 
time, he said, "I'll be OK, if the women in that place think that 
someone already owns me."

Before Brome could reach down and grab the loose end of rope, Eva 
grabbed it and said to her sister, "You drive, I'll take that!"

Brome acknowledged her sister with the nod of her head and a big 
smile. Then she broke the eerie silence of the swamp by starting the 
motor once again.

The Cajun Man just shrugged his shoulders and fixed his gaze down at 
the floorboards of the boat.

Eva wasn't about to let this opportunity pass. She immediately 
yanked on the rope and the Cajun Man was reeled in like a big fish. 
In a matter of seconds, for the first time on the whole trip, he 
found himself sitting next to Eva. Again he muttered some 
profanities under his breath, but didn't try to move away. Instead, 
he shook his head in consternation, sighed heavily, and looked 
toward the sky as if someone up there might intervene.

No one did.

A big smile spread across Eva's face and she looked toward her 
sister, who was trying not to laugh out loud, and said, "I've been 
meaning to lasso this doggie for some time."

That was just too much for Brome to handle and the noise of laughter 
competed with the boats motor for supremacy in this quiet place.

This time the Cajun man swore out loud so everyone could hear.

Every time Ron uttered a profanity, Eva would pull the rope a little 
tighter. Brome wasn't sure if Ron would run out of expletives before 
Eva ran out of rope. If he didn't, that might be very interesting 
Brome thought. Eventually, the cacophony of bad language stopped and 
so did the tugging. Brome was about to comment when she noticed the 
Cajun man and Eva staring at something in the distance. Soon all 
three were staring at the town. 

Ten minutes later, the small group had navigated the series of 
ladders and stood on the boardwalk poised to enter the town. So far 
no one, they met along the way, gave the party a second look. Except 
for Ron that is, everyone had given him a second and even a third 
look. Hungry eyes had devoured every part of the Cajun man. The 
looks did not go unnoticed by Eva. She had to admit to herself, that 
Ron was indeed one good looking man. Even if he didn't know his 
place and was completely exasperating.

The group paused momentarily to read the large sign that hung over 
the boardwalk. When Ron finished reading it,  he muttered, "Crazy 
place! It goes against the laws of nature."

Eva stopped staring at the sign, turned to the Cajun man, and asked, 
"How do you know this place doesn't reaffirm the laws of nature? 
Haven't you ever heard of black widow spiders or preying mantis's or 
lions for that matter. Maybe, this is the start of bringing 
womankind back along the right path."

The Cajun man caught the womankind remark, but ignored it, and he 
didn't like how this argument was progressing so he changed it to 
evidence that was irrefutable in his mind.

"The bible says man was made in God's image and didn't he make woman 
from the rib of  a man?"

"And who wrote the bible?" Eva shot back. Not waiting for his 
answer, Eva answered her own question, "Men of course! And besides, 
how do you know God isn't a woman?"

Instead of arguing further the Cajun man started to walk towards the 
town, but he did have one final remark as the women followed.

"If God is a woman, I'm in big trouble!"

Once inside the town, the procession changed. The two women led and 
the Cajun man followed close behind. Eva still hung on tenaciously 
to the rope that was about the Cajun man's head. Ron nervously 
looked from side-to-side as his eyes caught one strange sight after 
another. The women on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the goings 
on around them. Unknown to the Cajun man, the two women were 
somewhat used to this sort of thing.

A young woman passed nearby with an older man draped over her 
shoulder. The man appeared to be unconscious. His arms were hanging 
loosely down the back of the woman as she toted him, and he wasn't 
moving. Eva and Brome greeted the girl with a casual "Hello." Like 
this was an everyday occurrence to them.

The woman paused and gave the Cajun man the once over before she 
returned the hello.

"Can you tell me where we can get something to eat?" Brome asked 
very casually.

Before answering Brome, the woman looked at the rope and addressed 
Eva, "He's sure enough a big one, he give you any trouble?"

"No," Eva replied, "he's no trouble at all."

The woman nodded and the Cajun man sighed heavily and looked up 
towards heaven again, but remained quiet.

The woman had one more thing to say to Eva before she answered 
Brome's question. "She motioned with her head toward her human cargo 
and said, "This one's losing his spunk. I'm thinking of selling him 
over at the meat market and getting me another one."

Before Eva could reply, the young woman turned to Brome and finally 
answered her question, "The best food in town can be found right 
across the street, at Momma LeBlancs." Then  the woman started 
walking again. She did turn once more and added cautiously, "But be 
careful, that place is sort of rough."

Brome started to walk across the street, but she turned and yelled 
back at the retreating figure of the young girl, "Don't worry we're 
ready for anything."

Eva yanked on the rope and said, "Common pussycat!"

Ron sighed heavily once more, but he didn't have time to look up 
towards heaven for help. The rope had stiffened and he was dragged 
behind Eva as she hurried to catch up to her sister. 

When the group entered the bar, they weren't ready for the sight 
that greeted them. A large bar fight was in progress. The three of 
them watched at the doorway as the fight continued unabated and 
oblivious to the new arrivals. The size of the fight surprised 
Brome. Almost all of the women in the bar were fighting except for 
one or two who were still sitting at tables quietly eating their 
meals. These same women were pretty much ignoring the fight.

 There were men in the bar too, but they were huddled in one corner 
of the bar nervously watching the fight. Some of them looked like 
they could handle themselves, but none of the men seemed to want any 
part of this fight.

Just then, the ebb and flow of the fight brought two of the 
combatants right in front of Brome and Eva. The brunet broke a 
whiskey bottle over the blonde's head sending her down for the 
count. After KO'ing her rival, she turned and smiled at Brome and 
Eva. Brome returned the smile and then socked her in the jaw sending 
her down for the count as well.

Brome then started to pick her way through the melee with Eva and 
Ron following closely behind. From time-to-time Brome had to clear 
their way with a hard right hand or a solid left jab. In all cases, 
whomever she hit went down and didn't stir. Ron was more than a 
little surprised. Maybe, he had underestimated these two and just 
maybe, it was Sarina who should be worried.

The two sisters and the Cajun man slowly made their way to the 
tables through the melee. As soon as the women who were not involved 
in the fight saw Ron, they became keenly interested in the male 
stranger. They continued to ignore the fight, but inspect Ron 
thoroughly.

As the strangers finally made their way to a table and sat down, the 
fight hit a new pitch of intensity. The Cajun man felt a pair of 
eyes on him and he turned right into the gaze of a large woman who 
had herself turned to stare at Ron from the next table. She winked 
at him and silently motioned with her head for Ron to join her. Ron 
felt like she was eyeing him up like a piece of prime steak and he 
couldn't help but take a deep gulp. Finally, he grabbed the rope and 
showed it to the woman and shrugged. Her disappointment was obvious 
and she unhappily turned around.

Meanwhile, the fight was continuing unabated. There was still about 
ten or twelve combatants and about ten or twelve unconscious women 
on the floor. Just then, one of the largest women Brome had ever 
seen made her entrance from the back room. She was tall and dark 
revealing her Cajun ancestry and extremely well put together. It 
looked like her muscles had muscles. She looked like a female Hulk 
Hogan without the mustache or maybe, she had just shaved.

In any case, she spoke immediately in a deep resonant voice for all 
to hear. 

"Lordy! Another fight already! Really ladies, you're trying my 
patience."

After her comment, she grabbed one of the women combatants and 
slugger her half way across the room right into a wall. It seemed as 
if the woman had been pasted to a spot on the wall because she laid 
motionless against it for the longest time before her body started 
it's journey towards the floor. She was unconscious long before she 
completed her journey. 

The other woman who had been fighting the now unconscious woman, 
seemed to be frozen in place. Her fists were still poised in a 
fighters stance, but she was staring in awe at the big women. When 
the big women turned her gaze toward the other fighter, her first 
reaction was to shake her head in disgust. Then she hit her on the 
top of the head with one of her big fists. It had the desired 
result. The other fighter immediately crumpled to the floor.

This got the attention of most of the other fighters and they 
stopped and looked at the mountain of a woman in front of them. That 
is all but two who kept fighting. The big women saw that these two 
women had not stopped and she moved quickly over to them. The speed 
at which she moved really impressed Brome and Eva who were silently 
appraising this woman, just in case.

When she got to the two women, who were still fighting, she grabbed 
a head in each of her big hands and immediately crashed them 
together. The women fell in a heap at her feet.

After her display of pure brute power, she had something to say to 
the other women. 

"Now ladies, you no how gentle I usually am, and how I get when I'm 
riled?  And I'm starting to get riled."

Immediately, the other women fighters started making there way to 
the bar or towards the tables. They even started talking to each 
other like nothing had happened, and a couple of the ladies even put 
their arms around the person that they had just seconds before had 
been trying to knock into oblivion. The fight was over.

It was at that point that the big women spied the strangers. A big 
smile lit up her face and she started to walk towards the group. Eva 
and Brome braced, they didn't know quite what to expect from this 
mountain of a woman.

Half way over, the woman spied the men still huddled in a corner of 
the bar. Her reaction was immediate. 

"Well, just don't stand there like a bunch of ninnies, help these 
women out." And she motioned to some of the women who were strewn 
about the bar unconscious on the floor.

The men's reaction was immediate. They fanned out and went over to 
the unconscious women and started to revive them as best they could. 
The woman watched for a few seconds with her hands folded across her 
huge chest and evidently was pleased with what she saw because in 
the next moment she continued her journey over to Brome and Eva.

When she arrived, she grabbed a chair from the next table and sat 
across it with her arms on top of the chair and the chairs back 
facing the two women.

"I'm Momma LeBlank, I own this establishment," she said proudly. 

As she introduced herself, she offered her big hand first to Brome 
and then to Eva. Both women took her hand and shook it, and  both 
Brome and Eva were happy to see that she appeared to be in a better 
mood than she was in just seconds before.

After the introductions, Momma LeBlank's gaze went to the rope and 
then to the Cajun Man. It paused there for some time. Then her gaze 
made its way down the rope over to Eva.

"I don't suppose you'd care to sell him, would ya?"

Eva looked over at the Cajun man. Ron was looking up towards heaven 
again. At this point, Ron didn't care if God was female. He was 
praying to her and he was hoping that she was listening.

Eva looked back towards Momma LeBlanc and said in as friendly a 
voice as she could muster, "No, I'm afraid not...sorry!" 

Momma LeBlanc shook her head like she understood and said back in a 
very friendly voice. "I didn't think so....He sure is a looker...And 
I really like that big soft body of his."

The Cajun man closed his eyes and bit his tongue.

Brome was watching the conversation in amused silence. She thought 
the Cajun man was showing remarkable and uncharacteristic restraint. 
Maybe, he was a lot smarter than she thought.

Meanwhile, Mamma LeBlanc was continuing on with her commentary. "I 
need a big body like his. Men just seem to break  when I give them a 
little cuddle." Then she paused and said in an expectant voice, "Are 
you sure I can't make you an offer?"

Eva looked at Ron once again. 

His head was still cocked upward. In fact, he was in the middle of a 
silent prayer. "Please Lord..I'll never disrespect women ever again. 
I love women...I hope you're a woman....Just get me through 
this..Please."

For a moment, Eva wondered what he was thinking, but she finally 
looked back at Momma Leblanc and said in a very sincere voice, "I'm 
sorry....He's taken a lot of time to train and I'm sort of use to 
him."

Momma LeBlanc frowned, but nodded like she understood.

Eva had an inspiration and she said, "There's a couple more just 
like this one where I captured him. Next time I come through, I'll 
bring you back one."

That lifted Mamma LeBlanc's spirits and she slapped Eva on the back 
as she said excitedly, "Hell! Bring em all back!...If there anything 
like this one, I'll pay top dollar."

After her statement, Momma LeBlanc motioned to the bartender and she 
came over with some beers and some menus. Before the Cajun man got a 
beer, Mamma Leblanc asked, "Does he drink?"

The Cajun man was nodding yes, but Eva answered, "No, just water."

"That's smart!" Momma Leblanc answered, "keep him fit...He'll last a 
lot longer that way."

The Cajun man closed his eyes and bit his tongue once again.

Brome almost couldn't contain herself. She had to bite her tongue 
too just to keep from laughing out loud. In the battle that had been 
waging ever since Eva had met the Cajun man, Brome thought Eva was 
beginning to get the upper hand. She looked at the Cajun man, he 
sure did look a pitiful sight, but he still kept silent.

After everyone had ordered, Eva ordering for Ron, Momma LeBlanc 
asked curiously, "You're not from around here, are you?"

This time Brome answered, "No, we're from Kentooky....We're looking 
for someone."

Momma nodded like she was expecting that reply before she answered, 
"I thought you were from up North.....Who you looking fer?"

"A very tall beautiful woman with dark hair and a handsome little 
guy with a black mustache," Brome stated trying to contain her 
excitement.

"Why you mean Sarina, and that cute little feller, but he doesn't 
have his mustache any more."

Brome heard the last part of Mamma LeBlanc's statement and thought 
to herself, That bitch! She cut off his mustache.

She quickly had to refocus because Mamma LeBlanc was still talking. 

"What do you want her fer?"

Brome quickly composed herself and answered, "We're friends of 
hers....We belong to the same club."

Mamma LeBlanc nodded like she heard of W.I.C. and said, "I don't 
know why Sarina joined that club, I heard they're a bunch of 
pansies."

The Cajun man saw both Brome and Eva stiffen noticeably, but both 
their bodies quickly relaxed. Ron was almost disappointed, he 
envisioned a fight between the three women. Now, that would be 
something to see he thought.

Brome ignored Mamma LeBlancs last statement and said in a very 
controlled voice, "We're business associates of hers...We need to 
see her immediately."

"We'll ya missed her by a day. She's in Munson's Swamp by now, 
tenden to her business."

Brome wanted to ask her what business? But she didn't want to appear 
overanxious and uninformed. Instead, she nodded her head like she 
understood Mamma LeBlanc completely.

Mamma but her arms around the two women in a show of friendship. Ron 
couldn't believe her wingspan.

"Let's eat, drink, and be merry!" Mamma LeBlanc said as the food and 
Ron's water arrived. Then she added in a slightly less raucous 
voice, "Say you two wouldn't want to enter the bare knuckle 
tournament I'm staging tonight. There's a ten dollar entry fee and 
the last one standing gets the guy I have chained up in the back."

Eva and Brome just looked at one another and shrugged.

Mamma LeBlanc added, "I'll let ya take a good look at him before ya 
decide.

Ron closed his eyes once again and wished he had a draft.

------------------------------------- 

Helga excitedly waited arm-and-arm with Jim Prescott Sr. as the 
elevator climbed towards Evander P. Honeycutt's penthouse apartment. 
As the penthouse light lit and the little bell pinged, Helga and Jim 
looked at one another and smiled.

"I can't wait to show you off to my two daughters," Helga said 
proudly.

"And I can't wait to get married and go on our honeymoon," The head 
of Prescott Enterprises shot back.

Helga laughed, looked at him with bedroom eyes, and said coyly, 
"You've already had a taste of our honeymoon."

"I know," Jim said, "that's why I can't wait."

Helga laughed and then bent down and gave him a long wonderful kiss. 
She was wearing her high heels and in spite of the fact that Jim 
Prescott senior was not a little man. He was almost six one, Helga 
towered over him when she was wearing her heels.

As the kiss went on and on, Jim reached out and hit the door-open 
button. It prevented the elevator from closing and starting its long 
descent towards the lobby. Even as she kissed him, Helga caught the 
move. That was one of the reasons why she loved him. He was always 
thinking ahead.

After the kiss, the two exited the elevator arm-in-arm. When they 
reached the door to Evander's apartment, they could hear that a 
party was going on inside.

Jim said the obvious, "It sounds like a party...And they didn't 
invite us."

Helga chuckled for a moment and then became very serious. 

"Jim, my daughters are a lot like me," she said hesitantly.

"I know," Jim replied, "I've met most of them. There tall and 
beautiful just like their mother."

Helga chuckled once more, but that serious look spread across her 
face almost immediately.

"I mean my daughters are very dominant just like their mother and 
they are strong enough to get their way."

"Are they going to beat me up too!"

"No silly, can you be serious for just a moment," she pleaded.

"OK!" he said calmly, the smile left his face, and he waited 
patiently for her next words.

Helga took a deep breath and tried to explain, "The men you are 
about to meet are a little different."

"How so?" Jim asked.

"It's just that they aren't the ones in charge...My daughters and 
their friends are."

Jim's gaze left Helga and he stared at the wall as if he was 
thinking. In another moment he replied, "I see."

His next comment totally surprised Helga.

"Is that what happened to my son?"

Helga answered tenderly and truthfully, "Both my daughters love him. 
They would never hurt him."

"Then where is he?" Jim shot back.

"In Louisiana....Brome's trying to find him now."

Again Jim's gaze left Helga as he pondered her words. 

Finally, he looked back up at her and asked, "Shouldn't we go find 
them?"

"We'll go," and she paused a moment before she completed her 
statement, "if need be."

Jim looked away once more deep in thought. Then he said in a more 
cheery voice to Helga's great relief, "OK! Now let's go see you're 
daughters."

As they walked through the door, the sight that greeted them was 
everything that Helga expected and nothing that Jim could have 
imagined even in his wildest fantasies. 

The entire recently vanquished men's club was there including all 
their conquerors. The women were in various forms of undress 
including a stunning array of bikinis. The men were mostly in those 
same costumes that they wore for the last club meeting. 

Inga was on the floor with Evander and they were wrestling, if you 
could call it that. She had him between her legs and he was trying 
unsuccessfully as usual to get out. He was dressed in his purple 
wrestling tights and Inga was in a lavender bikini.

Gundy was sitting on the sofa with Hiram Peabody in her arms  
nuzzling his face with her nose. As usual, he was oblivious to the 
outside world, and of course, he was dressed in his baby clothes. 
Inga had on a very revealing black lace nighty that left virtually 
nothing to the imagination.

Marvin Biggs and Carol Lindley were dancing. Carol had on a stunning 
white bikini. It contrasted marvelously with her sun baked skin. 
Harold Beamis and Cat were also dancing. Cat had on her wrestling 
attire while Harold wore his silly leprechaun suit. Both couples 
were slow dancing cheek-to-cheek and both men had to stand on their 
tippy toes to reach their women's cheeks. Their feet barely touched 
the ground.

On the couch in the far corer of the room was Monica Lang and her 
little court jester Sidney Longfellow. Sidney was sitting on 
Monica's lap and they were making out. Darlene Schmidt and Henry 
Farnsworth were doing the same thing in the other corner of the long 
sofa. Both were dressed in their roller derby attire.

In spite of the fact that Helga had prepared Jim for an unusual 
party, he still stood in the middle of the room with his mouth wide 
open.

When Inga and Gundy saw their mother they came running over. Inga 
momentarily forgot about Evander, and he laid gasping for breath on 
the floor, but Gundy still cradled Hiram in her big arms and close 
to her body as she approached. The two couples stopped dancing as 
soon as they saw Helga, but only watched from their place nearby. 
The other two couples on the couch stopped making out, but didn't 
come running over either. 

As the two daughters greeted their mother, Helga held up her hand to 
show them the ring and yelled, "I'm engaged."

The girls squealed in glee and Inga embraced and kissed her mother. 
Gundy put Hiram on the floor so she could do the same thing. As they 
embraced, Jim watched Hiram moving off. Instead of walking away, he 
started to crawl towards the sofa where Gundy and he had just came 
from. As the girls continued to greet their mother and wish her 
happiness, Jim watched the man in the baby costume crawl over to the 
sofa and try to reach a bottle that was resting on a cushion. He 
could have stood and reached the bottle easily, but instead he 
remained on all fours trying to reach the bottle that way.

In the next instant Jim had to refocus because the girls were  
smiling and wishing him congratulations as well. 

"So this is my new daddy," Gundy yelled excitedly. At the same time 
she gave him a big hug. For a moment, Jim felt his feet leave the 
ground and he was finding it difficult to breath.

"Gundy! Put him down," Helga yelled.

"OK!..OK!" Gundy yelled back, but before she put him down, she 
whispered in his ear so only he could hear, "You better treat my 
mother well, or I'll spank you're bottom but good."

Jim was so flabbergasted by this teenagers strength and beauty that 
the only reaction he could give her upon being set down was shaking 
his head yes to her words. He had quite literally been squeezed 
speechless.

Then it was Inga's turn. She also grabbed him in a bear hug, but 
this time his hands were pinned to his side. When she lifted him off 
the ground she showered him with little kisses. I've so wanted 
another daddy she told him sincerely in a little girl's voice. Then 
she asked him, "Do you like to wrestle?"

"Inga!" Helga scolded, "the only person he's going to be wrestling  
is me, young lady."

Inga laughed, but set the president of Prescott Enterprises down. By 
this time, Jim had turned an embarrassed shade of crimson. 

As Jim tried to regain some of his dignity, Inga asked, "Did you 
wrestle with him, mom?"

Helga gave her daughter a disgusted look, but in the next instant a 
smile spread across her face and she nodded that she had indeed  
wrestled with her fiancee. 

By this time, Jim Prescott senior thought that he was in a dream and 
everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. There was a 
definite feel of unreality to the whole situation. His head was 
beginning to spin as he listened to the women talk. Had he made a 
gigantic mistake? Could he get out of it? Would these incredibly 
strong and beautiful women let him?

Inga pulled her mother off to the side for more details. Jim didn't 
try to follow. His mind was still trying to focus on the unreality 
of the whole situation he now found himself in.  He tried to catch 
his breath as he looked about the room.

"Did he give you a good fight?" Inga wanted to know.

Helga hesitated a moment and realized Jim was out of ear shot so she 
decided to tell her daughter the truth.

 "Not really!.....I could have ended the fight a lot quicker, but 
you know men and their egos."

Inga laughed and then looked lovingly towards Evander. "Ya..I know, 
" she said.

Before her mother rejoined her fiancee, Inga asked one more 
question, "Do you think Gundy could take him?...He's pretty big!"

Helga paused a moment before answering, then surprised her daughter 
with her answer. 

"With both hands tied behind her back."

Mother and daughter laughed a moment then looked at Jim Sr.  once 
again. Gundy had invaded Jim's privacy once more, and had him in 
another bear hug.

Inga chuckled and told her mom, "Ya better go save daddy!"

Before Helga left to rescue her fiancee again, she turned to Inga 
and whispered, "He's got no stamina."

Inga replied jokingly, "Well ya better pack a lot of vitamins for 
your honeymoon."

Both women laughed again before Helga finally came to her fiancee's 
rescue once more.

In a very far off corner of the huge room a figure sat by himself 
lonely and forlorn. It was Harvey Milkwith. He had taken the news of 
Helga's marriage hard. For the first time, he realized that he was 
in love with her. What was he to do without her and those giant 
breasts? As he pondered his fate, he gave a deep sigh and a single 
tear rolled down his cheek. What was he to do?

In another corner of the room Monica Lang looked on as well. For the 
first time, she let down her guard and a sinister smile spread 
across her face. She was about to make a lot of money! She counted 
the bodies in the room for the umteenth time and multiplied it by 
twenty thousand. Yes, she was about to make a lot of money. 

But what about Sidney? Would she keep him or would she turn him into 
a lot of cash as well. She looked at him for a second and he was 
patiently waiting for her to kiss him again as he sat on her lap. He 
looked so forlorn with his big brown eyes that she thought that he 
looked just like a small puppy dog. Maybe, she would keep him as a 
pet, and his entire fortune as well. That would be much more  money 
than she contemplated for turning him in, but what about her oath? 
What was she to do?

-----------------------------------

For the last three hours, Sarina's progress through the almost 
impenetrable swamp was very slow and deliberate. Every time I 
thought we were hopelessly mired in a tangle of brush and trees, 
that choked this area of the swamp, Sarina would somehow choose the 
right path through the maze. 

By this time I had lost all hope of escape. Even if I somehow 
managed to get away from Sarina, I knew, in this place, I would be 
dead in five minutes. There just were to many snakes, too many 
gators, and too many other dangers to make escape not only 
untenable, but simply impossible. 

My only other hope was rescue, but I tried to put that out of my 
mind as well. I loved Brome, and I didn't want her to follow me in 
here. With my whole being, I hoped that she had given up. In 
Munson's Swamp the contest between Brome and Sarina would be too 
uneven. I knew, that in this place Sarina held all the cards. 

I watched her navigate flawlessly through another maze of trees. In 
spite of my situation, I couldn't help but admire Sarina's many 
abilities. Yes, in this place, she truly was queen.

Just when I thought there would be a never ending series of  
obstacles and mazes to navigate through, the light started to get 
brighter and the growth strangling the bayou started to lessen. The 
channel actually started to widen and the thick canopy of trees 
began to thin out. It no longer seemed like there was a roof over 
our heads. 

Sarina who had ignored me for the last several hours because of the 
intense concentration needed to navigate through this area of the 
swamp, paused momentarily to give me the news.

"We're almost there," she sang out.

I looked around for a moment and with sarcasm in my voice  I asked, 
"Where?"

She smiled at me and gave me another enigmatic response.

"You'll see!"

I remembered the sign that we had passed several hours earlier and 
was about to ask her if we were nearing hell, but before I could 
ask, the channel suddenly widened dramatically. In the center of the 
wide channel was a large island looming ahead, and Sarina was making 
straight for it.

It was all so amazing I thought. One moment there's nothing but bug 
infested swamp, and the next there's an oasis in the desert of 
cypress trees appearing out of nowhere. I remembered the old movie I 
loved so much, Lost Horizon. As I looked around at this remarkable 
world and the fast approaching island, I wondered if I was headed 
for Shangri-La.

As the boat approached the island, I could make out an encampment, 
with people moving around. From one of the largest trees came a high 
pitched trilling sound. It was a human voice that made that sound 
and it was also obviously female. I instantly realized that it was a 
warning signal and I could see some women gathering at our obvious 
mooring point.

I looked at Sarina and she seemed unconcerned. In fact, she started 
to wave and most of the women waved back. As we got closer, I could 
make out the women much better. For the most part they were young 
and very good looking. Their dress was right out of the movie Lil 
Abner. I guess, in the swamp, too much clothing was a definite 
hindrance, and the heat and humidity made excessive clothing an 
impossibility, but this oasis seemed almost pleasant in temperature.

The boat ran aground on the small sandy beach. The women were 
waiting there for us. They were for the most part smiling and all 
talking at once. Typical women I thought. All of them were 
incredibly youthful and beautiful and they came in all shapes and 
sizes. Although, many of them were much taller than I.

After disembarking, the women gathered around us in a small circle. 
It was Sarina who quieted them and spoke. The other women 
immediately became silent and listened.

"This is Jim! He is my consort!" And she motioned to me with a wave 
of her hand. "He belongs to me!" And she said that in a very 
forceful voice. "Any woman who steals my property, will answer to 
me."

The women nodded and made a small hole in the circle so we could 
proceed through it. As I looked at the women, and got the feel of 
this place, I did feel a little like property. In spite of the 
incredible beauty of the females and their various states of 
undress, I was pretty sure that I had not landed in Shangri-La.

As Sarina and I walked toward the encampment of huts and cabins she 
asked, "Have you guessed who these women are?"

"There the Cajun Cuties I heard about..Aren't they?"

Sarina stopped, faced me, and began rubbing my cheek.

"You know...You're very smart for a man!"

I wasn't sure, but I think that was a compliment.

"What is this place?" I asked.

She stopped rubbing my cheek, but her smile remained. Then she 
proudly informed me as if she was the owner of this place, "This is 
one of my processing centers."

"What do you process?" I asked in a somewhat perplexed voice.

Sarina gave me one of those enigmatic responses again. 

"Why the most valuable commodity in the entire world."

After her reply, she started to walk towards the village once again 
and I followed.

Her last remark made me curious so I asked the obvious question.

 "How do you know that the commodity you harvest is the most 
valuable thing in  the world?" 

She stopped again and faced me, a big smile lit up her face, and she 
said in a very cheery voice, "Because I'm already the richest person 
in the entire world."

That floored me. Before I could ask her anything else, she started 
walking toward the village again. She had pretty much peeked my 
curiosity, and as I hurried to keep up with her, I shot her a few 
questions. "What commodity could you find here? Who do you sell it 
too? What do you mean I'm you're consort?

She stopped again and gave me a penetrating look before she 
answered. This time it was not an enigmatic response.

"I guess the time has come for you to know all. We'll start with a 
tour of the island. That will answer many of your questions." 

Then she started to walk again, but this time she kept talking. I 
followed close behind and listened as we walked.

"I'm building an empire, Jim....It will encompass the whole 
world...And you will be my consort...I have chosen you....And you 
will provide me with a female heir."

It all sounded so crazy, like something out of a James Bond movie. 
For some reason, there was only one question I could think of at the 
moment.

"What if we have a son?"

She stopped for a moment once again, and looked directly at me.

"Why don't you let me worry about that," she said.

--------------------------------------

They were twenty minutes out of No Man's Landing and the Cajun man 
was feeling his old self again. The first thing he did was to take 
the noose from around his neck and throw the rope in the water.

"Why did you do that?" Brome questioned in a somewhat strained 
voice.

"Because it made me feel good," was the Cajun man's reply.

"What if we needed that rope?" Eva shot back in a somewhat angry 
voice.

Deftly changing the subject, Ron told Brome, "I'll take the tiller 
again.

Brome nodded and the two swapped positions. A big smile spread 
across the Cajun man's face once he had the tiller and he had 
settled  comfortably in.

"Yep! Let a man lead you ladies," he said, his voice dripping with 
sarcasm.

Brome sighed heavily, but remained quiet.

Eva folder her hands about her chest and she shot the Cajun man a 
severe look, but she too remained quiet.

The Cajun man sighed heavily and looked at the swamp feeling at home 
and at peace once again. Yes, he was beginning to feel quiet smug. A 
minute or two passed and then he informed the two sisters about what 
he was thinking.

"Ya know, I think I would have liked to see you two enter that bare 
knuckle contest."

This time it was Eva who replied. 

"Let me assure you that either of us were quiet capable of winning 
that contest."

The Cajun man looked from one sister to another and then surprised 
the both of them with his answer.

"You know, I'm beginning to believe you."

Brome said in a matter of fact tone of voice, "And if it would have 
become necessary...Either my sister or I could have handled Momma 
Leblanc."

The Cajun man let out with a hardy laugh and slapped his knee.

"Now that is something I truly would have liked to have seen," he 
informed them in his rich southern drawl.

Brome just shook her head in wonder and laughed.

Then as if he had been picturing the battle, Ron added, "In a pit of 
mud and maybe bathing suits...No bikinis!"

This time it was Eva's turn to shake her head but more in disgust 
than in wonder.

"In your dreams Cajun man, only in your dreams," she sarcastically 
replied.

Brome laughed to herself. Somehow, the Cajun man had momentarily 
gained the upper hand again. What next she wondered?

The two protagonists started to bicker back and forth. First Ron and 
then Eva. Back and forth it went for the next five minutes till 
finally Brome decided to break the spell and end the bickering 
between them, at least for the moment.

"How far are we from Munsun's Swamp?" she asked.

Ron looked around for a moment before he answered.

"Maybe three..maybe four hours, but very soon were going to have to 
make camp for the night."

"Why?" Brome asked in an agitated voice.

"We don't want to be navigating through Munson's Swamp in the dark. 
It's just too dangerous and we could get lost."

Ron saw the disappointment on both women's faces and he added in a 
more tender and sincere voice, "Trust me on this."

Both women nodded but the boat became very quiet for a few minutes, 
each person losing themselves in their own thoughts. Finally, it was 
the Cajun man who spoke first. He had evidently decided that the 
women needed another lesson in theology.

"Look around ladies! Doesn't this beautiful place reaffirm that God 
is a man?"

Eva shook her head and shouted, "Now what garbage are you spewing 
from that pie hole of yours?"

"Look at the sky ladies...It's a soothing shade of blue..And the 
trees and brush...Why there a calming shade of green...Even the 
water's a soothing color!"

In a very agitated state, Eva shouted, "Get to you're point...If you 
have one?"

"Well, if God was a female, don't you think the sky would be some 
hideous shade of orange....And the trees, they'd probably be some 
bright purple and yellow colors too.....And I don't want to even 
think what color she'd make the oceans, probably something to match 
her nails."

"Listen "Swamp Man" how do you know she hasn't used those colors on 
some other planet? And I'm sure the females there simply love the 
colors," Eva shot back.

Ron shook his head like he was absolutely certain of the validity of 
his next reply.

"There are no other planets and people living on them because the 
bible tells us so!"

Eva forcibly controlled her temper and in a calmer voice answered, 
"You know, maybe, God is a man!"

Ron perked up at that response.

But Eva shouted out her next words, "Because if God was a female she 
certainly wouldn't have made anything as dumb and infuriating as a 
man!"

Almost immediately, both Eva and Ron started yelling at the top of 
their lungs at one another.

 The children are at it again Brome thought. She shook her head and 
sighed heavily once more. She tried to make herself comfortable in 
the boat, the next few hours were going to be long ones. She thought 
the two people in the boat with her should definitely get married, 
then they would have the rest of their lives to battle. It was 
something they both did well and seemed to enjoy.

As she got more comfortable the shouting continued, but her thoughts 
wondered to a different topic. She said a silent prayer, and she 
didn't care if God was really a man or a woman only that her prayers 
would be answered. Also, there in the boat she reaffirmed her vow. 
Don't worry, Jim, I'm coming.

----------------------------------

Sarina and I toured the village. There were more men in the village 
than I expected to see. All of their clothing was tattered and 
weather-beaten, but I could still make out, in some instances, what 
they did in the outside world. There were a few men in the tattered 
remains of police uniforms, and some were definitely from the 
military.

I didn't notice if Sarina was watching me, but she must have been 
because she started a running commentary about the men.

"In most cases, I give the cuties first choice on the men!"

When I heard that I looked at the men more closely. They all had a 
very passive nature and most were doing the chores in the village, 
and some of them were being directed by the women on what to do.

"Why don't they try to leave or take over this village," I inquired.

Sarina turned to me and smiled before answering. Her answer 
shouldn't have surprised me by now, but it did.

"Oh, all of them have tried at one time or another."

This time I looked at the women more closely. All of them had lived 
in the swamp all their lives. They knew it like the back of their 
hands. While the men obviously didn't. All the women emanated with a 
healthy glow as well. It was like the women derived some sort of 
energy from the swamp. It made them healthy and vigorous.

While on the other hand, the men looked just the opposite. It was as 
if  the swamp had a reverse effect on them and drained them of all 
their energy. Maybe, it was just a matter of outlook. The women 
loved the swamp, the men wanted to leave it at all costs.

In any case, the women had banded together just like a tribe of 
Amazons from ancient antiquity. It was not hard for me to believe 
that they ruled the men in a similar fashion and that the laws and 
customs on this island were quite similar.

I realized Sarina had been watching me figure it out. I guess she 
realized a picture is worth a thousand words, so she had remained 
silent. By this time, we had reached the outskirts of the village. 
Sarina pointed to a group of more modern looking cabins off to the 
left.

"Over there, Jim, all your questions will be answered," she assured 
me.

Somehow, I doubted that.

I thought I was ready for anything, but when we walked into the 
biggest cabin, I was sadly mistaken. There were computers and 
communication equipment everywhere, and manning them were women in 
some sort of strange uniforms. When they saw Sarina they all got up 
and gave her a weird salute.

I just shook my head in wonder.

As if she read my thoughts, Sarina said in a very glib voice, "These 
women are part of my army!"

I looked at her in wild eyed fascination and  repeated her words in 
the form of a question, "You have an army?"

"And a navy, and an air force...When you're the richest person in 
the world, you can have anything you want."

"How?" was the only word I could manage at the moment.

Sarina smiled and said, "Ah yes! My commodity!...Let me show you."

She led me over to rows of boxes in the back.

I looked at them and asked, "You sell dope?"

She gave me a look as if she was disgusted with my question and 
replied, "Something infinitely more valuable."

None of the lids on the boxes were sealed. It was easy for her to 
remove one. What I beheld made me speechless. Inside the box was a 
naked man. He was wrapped in some sort of clear cellophane from his 
neck to his toes. The only other thing on his body was a little 
round tag that hung down from his right ear like an earring.

Sarina watched my expression for a few moments, then she began to 
tell me the whole story.

"I have teams of women all over the world. They look for a certain 
type of man; handsome, rich, and single or one that fills a 
particular order."

I had to interrupt her. "The man fills an order?"

"Yes," Sarina answered, "Many women from all over the world place 
orders with me on a regular basis. It has made me fabulously 
wealthy, and the best part is, I don't pay taxes." 

I just shook my head in amazement and started to look at the badge 
more closely.

When Sarina saw my curiosity, she began to explain the function of 
the badge.

"If the man fills an order, the badge is marked with the woman's bar 
code. It follows him through the system."

Sarina saw my look of total incredulity and she said in a joking 
manner, "We don't want any orders misplaced, now do we?"

I was speechless and I was beginning to hear more than I wanted to 
hear, but she continued on with her explanation.

"Some men just happen to be the type we want: handsome, rich, and 
single or one of the team members takes a fancy to them and there 
earmarked...No pun intended.....with a different bar code."

She looked at the tag on the man we were looking at and said, "See, 
this one fills an order."

It sure looked like a bar code you might see at the grocery store.

"Let me say that the woman I choose are completely capable of 
handling any man. First the men are chosen according to our criteria 
and then they're subdued and prepared for shipment."

"You capture the men?"

"Uh huh! I pay the women well, but for some the capture process is a 
real kick for them. After the man is subdued, his clothes are 
removed and he is prepared for shipment. In other words, he's tagged 
and bagged."

My head was starting to spin.

"We give the man an injection before shipment. It puts him in a 
state of suspended animation till he arrives at the conditioning 
center."

"Here," I asked.

"No, this is just a processing center. There's one final stop in the 
chain. There the men are given another injection which revives them 
and then their prepared or conditioned for the rest of their lives. 
I call their conditioning boot camp, and in some ways that's exactly 
what it is." 

All of a sudden, where there had been no information there now was 
too much. I scratched my head and must have looked totally confused, 
it was just to much input for my brain to handle.

Sarina saw my confusion, and she said in a tender voice, "Let me 
summarize, "I have teams of women in most of the major cities of the 
world. They search for certain types of men. Once found, the men are 
subdued and transported to processing areas like this one. I have 
five processing areas world wide. There similar to this one. For 
obvious reasons they have to be in remote almost inaccessible 
locations."

"Where are they?" I asked.

Sarina looked at the ceiling for a moment as she tried to remember 
them all.

"There's this one. One in Malaysia, a new one in the Amazon, then 
there's one in Siberia, and the final one is in Libya."

"Libya," I asked?

"Yes, Khadafi has already been conditioned. Have you heard of his 
female squad of bodyguards?"

I had heard of them and I shook my head yes.

"There my people," she informed me proudly.

Sarina sure got around and I really wasn't surprised. She had all 
ready proved her competence. While I pondered Khadafi she continued 
on with her summary. 

"When there are enough men at a center, we move the entire shipment 
at once to one of three processing centers or camps. I have one in 
Argentina, one in the Ukraine, and the last one is located in 
Australia."

"What happens then," I asked.

"The men are conditioned by specialists."

"You condition the men?....How?" 

"In my camps! They all undergo a rigorous reeducation program. 
Sometimes it takes weeks....sometimes months...but in the end they 
all come around. Then the order is filled or the men are returned to 
society with a better understanding of their true masters....women!"

There was one burning question, I had to know the answer.

"But Why!" 

"Oh, its not the money, although that is a necessary byproduct. 
Someday in the not to distant future control will pass out of the 
hands of men into the hands of the real masters....the women of the 
world. Soon, control will fall from a tree like a ripe plum and I'll 
be there to pluck it out of mid-air."

"Then you're working for W.I.C.?"

"Heavens no! Lets call them my rivals."

"But you're a member."

"What better way to keep track of your competitors."

I shook my head in amazement and in awe of her plan. Could she 
really succeed? And where did I fit in?

She had more for me to digest.

"I harbor W.I.C. no ill will. After all we have the same goal only 
our methods differ. What will take them half a century to achieve 
will happen with my plan in the next ten years. I hope to add them 
to my team as equals in the very near future."

"And what about me," I asked.

"You've had enough to digest for one day. Let us leave it at that 
for now. Except that you should know we'll be heading for Argentina 
tomorrow with this latest shipment of one hundred men. I think 
you'll enjoy seeing Camp Cheerful and the rest of my operation."

I wanted to know more, and I was going to ask more questions when I 
heard the beat of what must have been a giant drum.

As soon as Sarina heard the drum, she laughed and exclaimed, "They 
caught them! let's go, I'm sure you'll want to see this.

I wasn't so sure.

We made our way back to the village just in time to see a party of 
cuties returning, but they weren't alone. There were six men tied to 
poles hand and foot. Two cuties carried each man, one cutie for each 
end of the pole. I couldn't help but shake my head in amazement. It 
was something right out of an Amazon fable. 

The rest of the villagers were gathering as the party set down their 
loads right in the center of the encampment. An anxious buzz went 
through the crowd. I could see most of the men in the crowd hang 
their heads in shame. But their was something else that I read in 
the men's body language as well. It was like the men had lost their 
will. Maybe, it was a lack of hope.

I asked Sarina, "Are these men new captures?"

"No," she replied, "these men are part of the village and they tried 
to escape last night!"

"What's going to happen to them?" I asked. I was more than a little 
bit afraid of her answer.

She turned and smiled her evil little smile at me. That look always 
made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Watch!" she said in a tone that sounded more like a command than a 
comment.

I shut up and watched.

By this time the men had been untied from the poles but a number of 
cuties still had firm control of the men. When most of the village 
had gathered, a woman silenced the group and started talking  to 
everyone. I thought she had to be the leader.

"In accordance with our laws the men shall be punished 
immediately....Bring the first ones forward!"

I whispered to Sarina, "Can't you stop this?"

She turned and gave me an irritated look, but she did answer my 
question, "No, I don't interfere in the customs of the village. The 
agreement is, they supply me with protection and men from time-to-
time and I bring in supplies for them...Now shhhhhh!"

I got the message. The cuties and Sarina had more of a symbiotic 
relationship with each other. I had just one more question and I 
risked her ire.

"What are first ones?"

She turned and really gave me a look. I was sorry I asked as soon as 
I saw her face, but her scowl didn't last long, and I guess she 
decided to answer anyway. 

"It's the first time they've tried to escape," she whispered.

This time a few women nearby went, "Shhhhhhhh!"

I got the message and vowed to keep silent and watch.

Two men were brought forward. They really looked frightened. The 
woman who appeared to be leader looked them over for a second or two 
and then called a woman's name.

"Bettyjo this one is yours!"

A very tall and youthful looking woman stepped forward. She couldn't 
have been more than twenty and what a looker. With her blonde hair 
and scanty attire, she immediately reminded me of DaisyMae from the 
movie Lil Abner. Only this blonde beauty was a lot taller.

As soon as she stepped forward, she gave a courteous bow to the 
leader which was returned in kind, and then she stepped over to one 
of the men and grabbed his ear. I thought she had to be a good head 
taller than the slightly older man.

"You're really going to get when we get home! she exclaimed."

Then she started leading him by the ear out of the circle. She 
turned her head from side-to-side searching for something. By this 
time all the women were laughing and following the couple as BettyJo 
searched for whatever she was looking for.

BettyJo led the man over to a stump as the whole village followed. 
When she reached it she let go of the man's ear, pulled his pants 
down, and then proceeded to put one of her huge bare legs on the 
stump. And in one quick motion placed the man over her big bare 
thigh. The man was suspended in mid-air over the girl's thigh with 
neither his hands nor his feet touching the ground. The man was 
protesting the whole time and most of the women in the crowd were 
laughing.

His punishment commenced immediately. It consisted of a ten minute 
hiding. By the time the girl was done the man's protests had turned 
to tears. Afterwards, she led him by the ear once again. This time, 
towards their hut to the cheers and laughter of the women in the 
crowd. I noticed that all of the men had remained silent and most 
did not watch the show. Instead, they had their heads bent downward 
toward the ground.

When the show was over, the crowd moved back toward the other 
prisoners. Again, the leader quieted the crowd and called another 
woman's name.

"Lullabelle this one is yours!"

A brunet moved forward this time. She wasn't as tall as the last 
girl, but she was every bit as beautiful. Again she bowed in front 
of the leader and the bow was returned, but this time the girl 
hesitated in taking the man.

Then she startled the crowd with her pronouncement.

"I renounce this one!"

A hushed murmur went through the crowd. The leader consulted a woman 
next to her as if they were discussing the rules of their community. 
The man's face went through a series of emotions from stunned 
disbelief, to shock, and finally to fear.

He broke free and threw himself at the feet of Lullabelle and 
proclaimed, "Please!..I'm sorry!....I won't run away again!"

But Lullabelle pulled one of her legs from his grasp and his tender 
kisses and walked back to the crowd. The leader quickly motioned for 
two of the guards and they quickly stepped forward and seized the 
man bringing him to his feet. The man fell silent as did the rest of 
the crowd and everyone waited.

The leader did not keep the crowd in suspense for long. In a very 
loud voice she proclaimed, "Does any one else claim this man?"

An eerie silence lasted for a good minute as the leader looked the 
crowd over, but no one spoke up.

I decided to run the risk of reprisal and I nudged Sarina and asked, 
"Can't you take him?"

She shook her head no and explained further, "He does not fit the 
prototype."

Her answer made me realize just how hard hearted Sarina could be. I 
doubted my special status with her afforded me much protection. It 
was a point duly noted and a lesson learned.

In the next moment the leader spoke again and directly to the man.

"Then in accordance with our laws you are free to go," and she 
pointed toward the swamp."

"No! Don't do this! I won't last five minutes out there 
...Please!....No!" the man screamed as the two guards led him 
forcibly away towards the beach and the waiting swamp.

As the man was led away, the leader yelled after him, "You wanted to 
leave...Now go!"

After the man was led away it was a moment before the leader spoke 
again, "Bring the second one forward!"

By this time, I was fairly certain that this meant the man brought 
forward had tried to escape twice.

Like before, the leader was about to call a woman forward, but a 
tremendous commotion in one of the nearby huts interrupted her. Like 
everyone else, I listened for a moment. It was the first woman 
making good on her promise. From the sound of it, the guy was really 
taking a beating. Laughter again filled the crowd as everyone 
realized the source of the noise.

Even the leader laughed, but she quickly composed herself and called 
the next woman, "Rosemary come forward!"

Rosemary looked like your typical girl next door. If your typical 
girl next door has muscles and breasts the size of Dolly Parton. She 
even was the same size as Dolly. 

After the women had performed their ritual bows, the leader spoke up 
again.

"Give him the kiss of the Cottonmouth!"

That sounded fairly ominous.

As soon as the leader gave Rosemary the order she grabbed her 
startled man, who happened to be five or six inches taller than her, 
and wrestled him down to the ground. They rolled around for a minute 
or so till Rosemary got the upper hand. She was sitting on the small 
of his back when she pushed the back of his head down causing his 
face to be pushed into the dirt, and started to bend his arms back. 
She bent them back and extended them out straight till they were 
touching in a very painful and awkward position.

As soon as she had accomplished this, she rose, placed her foot in 
the small of his back, and transferred his wrists to her left hand 
keeping his arms extended and bent behind his back in a very painful 
position. Then she motioned two women forward. The first woman 
pulled the man's pants down around his ankles exposing his naked 
backside for all to see. 

The second woman brought Rosemary an object. I had to stand on my 
tip toes to get a better view of it through the crowd. It was a long 
carved piece of wood that had several undulations along its length. 
It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize this was some form of 
ritualized torture device in the form of a snake.

Rosemary grabbed it and held it up for the crowd to see. The women 
all cheered. I didn't see any men cheer, and I did see one man grab 
his backside like he had already tasted the kiss of the cottonmouth.

Soon after, the guilty man felt the snake's kiss on his ass and 
upper thighs. Every time Rosemary delivered a blow the man would cry 
out in pain. I often wondered if screaming at the top of your lungs 
helped, but I really didn't want first hand knowledge. I remembered 
that screaming helped me whenever Gundy or Sarina or Eva or Inga had 
wailed me with their hands, but this was different. This was a real 
lesson with a very hard piece of wood.

The lesson lasted almost ten minutes. The man had stopped screaming 
awhile back and now only produced intermittent whimpers, and they 
didn't even coincide with the blows either. I guess his mind had 
entered the world of semi consciousness. I thought that was lucky 
for him. 

No one in the crowd was laughing this time. I gather a second 
offense was a much more serious crime, and the mood of the crowd was 
not festive.

As I watched, I became mesmerized with the rhythm of the blows. Ken 
Griffy Jr. didn't have a sweeter swing, and I doubted his bat speed 
was higher, but mercifully the beating finally came to an end.

When it was over, Rosemary held up the snake, once again, for all to 
see. That was greeted by another round of cheers from the crowd. 
Afterwards, the same woman relieved Rosemary of the punishment 
instrument. 

Almost at once, Rosemary became more tender. She tried to help the 
man to his feet, but they wouldn't hold him. She carefully placed 
the man over her shoulder and started to walk towards the huts and 
home. As I watched her leave, I realized the man's pants were still 
down around his ankles. I just shook my head in wonder at the sight. 

It wasn't very long till the leader quieted the crowd once more and 
proclaimed, "Bring the third ones forward!"

This time there were three men, I wasn't sure I wanted to watch 
their punishment.

Suddenly the crowd started to chant and I couldn't make it out, but 
slowly the words became clear.

"Three men enter..one man leaves. ....Three men enter..one man 
leaves...Three men enter...one man leaves."

I was waiting for Mel Gibson to pop out any minute, but I doubted he 
could have helped these men.

The three men were moved to a large circle. They struggled valiantly 
with every step, but the female guards held them fast and slowly 
moved them to the desired location.

When the men reached the large thirty foot in diameter circle the 
guards threw them inside. One man ran to the other end, but put on 
the brakes as soon as he reached the perimeter of the circle like 
some invisible force had stopped him. I guess he knew the punishment 
for leaving the circle.

As soon as the men were inside, the crowd started chanting again. 
But this time they chanted something else.

"Slayer!.....Slayer!.....Slayer!"

Sarina bent down and filled in my blank spots.

"A woman enters the circle and she is called the slayer. She will 
kill two of the men and she will wear a mask to keep her identity 
unknown so she won't receive reprisals from the slain men's lovers."

"Can't the men protect themselves," I asked.

Sarina replied glibly, "Yes, but it won't matter." Almost as an 
afterthought she added, "If the men win, they will be set free. 
After all, the women are fair."

That comment struck me strange, but I kept it to myself.

In the next instant a masked woman entered the circle to cheers from 
the women in the crowd.  She looked magnificent. Her long blonde 
hair flowed down her back in a ponytail and the black mask she wore 
looked like something you might see at a costume ball.

Sarina bent towards me once again and commented, "I brought the 
mask, do you like it?"

I just stared up at her for a moment, but didn't comment. Instead, I 
turned back to the circle, but as I did, I remembered how much 
Sarina truly loved costumes.

The blonde was circling the three men and they were circling her as 
well. She didn't allow the men to flank her. She was wearing nothing 
from the waist up. What a magnificent set of boobs she had! I don't 
know how the men could concentrate, but I guess those sort of things 
were less important when you were fighting for your life.

She also wore a pair of tight-fitting silver short shorts with 
matching boots. I was fairly certain Sarina had supplied the rest of 
the costume as well.

The crowd was still chanting, but they had switched from chanting 
"slayer!" to the even more ominous, "three men enter.. one man 
leaves."

Sarina nudged me this time and said, "I came up with the chant...Do 
you like it!"

I would have called her a copycat, but I didn't think that would 
have gone over very well, and I had seen enough man beating for one 
night.

Back in the circle the fight had commenced, if you can call it that. 
One man was already flat on his back and another just took a knee in 
the gut and a chop in the back of the neck. He went down as well. 
The last man quickly tried to move in and threw some wild swings at 
the woman. She ducked or swerved out of the way and each missed 
their mark. 

After the errant haymakers had missed their mark, she delivered a 
short compact series of punches to the man's face. All of her 
punches landed. It staggered the man and he finally fell over 
backwards. 

One of the other men was trying to get to his feet. As he did so, 
the slayer delivered a will placed boot right to his jaw. It laid 
him out flat as well.

Two men were out cold and the third was trying to crawl away, but he 
wasn't making much progress. The slayer calmly walked over to him 
and placed him in what looked like a sleeper hold. He struggled but 
every time he did, she would make the hold a little tighter till he 
finally stopped struggling. 

It was a minute or so till the other men revived enough to see what 
was going on. As soon as they did, the slayer gave the captured 
man's neck a sharp vicious twist. I heard his neck snap from twenty 
feet away.

When it was obvious the man was dead, a woman in the crowd screamed 
and fell to the ground. I heard her say, "Damn you Harold! Why did 
you have to try and git away again"

I was fairly sure Harold belonged to her.

The slayer quickly got to her feet and motioned with her finger for 
the other two men to come and get it on again. They wisely continued 
to back away with the slayer slowly following. As the combatants 
moved away from the dead man, two women grabbed the dead man by the 
feet and dragged him out of the circle.

What happened next completely surprised me. Two knives were thrown 
into the circle right by the retreating men. The two men quickly 
picked the knives up and started to move toward the slayer. She then 
started to retreat slowly herself. From the way the men handled the 
knives, I thought they both probably had used knives  in a fight 
before.

Sarina nudged me again with another comment.

"See, women can be fair."

It didn't sound like she was too concerned for the ladies safety in 
the ring of death, and in the next moment I saw why. One of the men 
attacked lunging forward with the knife. The slayer sidestepped his 
lunge, grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm, and used his own 
momentum to flip his body to the ground. She still held on to his 
wrist which she twisted further before she removed the knife deftly 
from his hand.

She placed her boot on his throat and could have delivered a death 
blow at any time. The last man did not attack. Instead, he backed up 
and moved away. I thought he was a coward till I realized, as did 
the slayer, that if she killed this man, the other would go free. So 
why should he attack.

Instead of killing the incapacitated man, she gave him two well 
placed stomps. One to his right arm and the other to his face. 
Afterwards, she moved toward the other man and motioned him forward 
with her finger again. At that point, I realized both men were in 
for a long beating before the slayer would finally choose who would 
live and who would die.

In the next instant, the other man lunged forward with his knife as 
well. Evidently he hadn't learned from what had just transpired. The 
slayer side stepped his lunge and gave the man a short quick blow to 
the face with the back of her right hand. It caught the man by 
surprise and as he staggered backwards, the slayer kicked the knife 
from his hand and out of the circle. 

In the next ten minutes both men received cuts, and a thorough 
beating. The only suspense that was left was which man would live 
and which would die. I have to admit I had my favorite as did the 
rest of the crowd. When one man or the other was in a particularly 
vulnerable position, part of the crowd would yell, "Spare 
him!..Spare him!" While the other part yelled, "Kill him...Kill 
him!"

It became obvious that the greater portion of the crowd had a 
definite favorite. In a very real way, the slayer was letting the 
crowd decide the matter of life and death. In the end, the crowd got 
its way.

Cheers went up when the slayer finally delivered her death blow. The 
other man was barely able to stand. He collapsed to the ground when 
he realized his life had been spared. Another woman immediately ran 
over to him and assisted him. I was fairly certain that that was her 
mate. When I looked back for the slayer, she was gone. She had 
slipped away in the commotion.

The woman helped the man to his feet and hugged and then kissed him 
to cheers from the crowd. After the kiss, the woman slugged the man 
right in the jaw. He went down, but the woman hadn't released his 
arm, and in one motion she threw the unconscious man over her 
shoulder. She managed the bigger man's weight effortlessly and 
immediately started to walk to the huts with the man draped over her 
shoulder to more cheers from the crowd. 

As I looked on, I realized that in a female dominated world the 
difference between pleasure and pain was a slight one. I'm sure a 
woman would say it all depended on the man, but of course, that was 
the woman's point of view.

As the crowd broke up, Sarina intruded on my thoughts.

"Come, its getting dark and I still have a lot to show you. Besides 
the fun and games are over for now."

As we walked towards what Sarina wanted to show me, I realized that 
what I had just witnessed, Sarina did consider fun and games. That 
was one sobering thought.

That night as I laid awake in my bed, my mind went over all that I 
had seen and heard that day. It was a lot and it was all very 
disturbing. 

Sarina was going over plans with her lieutenants for the next day. 
She was not there with me. The cabin wasn't locked, but where could 
I go? Into the swamp? I thought about Brome and I hoped she had 
given up. I now thought that in a battle with Sarina, she would 
surely loose. That seemed like a traitorous thought. It did 
embarrass me to think that way. And what did I really think about 
Sarina? It was almost impossible to go against her will and not to 
desire that body of hers. I was so confused.

Slowly my thoughts turned to Sarina's camp in Argentina. It's name 
was Camp Cheerful. I was sure that was an ironic choice by Sarina. 
Her helicopters would arrive by early afternoon tomorrow and 
transport us to her waiting ship just off the coast in the Gulf. She 
even told me its name. The ship was called the Artemis. I thought 
that name was very appropriate. These women and their leader were 
hunters.

I tried to close off any further thoughts about the day and to find 
peace in sleep. It was just too painful to think. I felt like I had 
given up all hope, but I still silently said a prayer. Then I had 
another ironic thought. What if God was a female? Would she be 
listening or laughing? I turned over and closed my eyes. Hope seemed 
like only a dim light flickering in the darkness and it was getting 
further and further away. Just before I fell asleep, the light faded 
and was replaced by a lovely pair of green eyes and then sleep 
overtook me.


To be continued....


In the next chapter, Will Brome get to Jim in time? Or will he be 
lost forever? And will Jim's dad try to leave Helga? And what is  
Monica planning? Watch for the next installment as the story builds 
towards its conclusion in the remaining chapters.

Read chapter 1 of the saga that will be replacing this one in the 
coming months "My Bavarian Assignment"