Chained Cargo (9 page)

“
I
then had
to go back to the iron frame
and
put my back against the bars and face the anvil.
T
he low
middle
post brush
ed
the inside of my thighs
as I moved my back against the frame
. It came to a few inches below my crotch. The two blacksmiths took my arms, lifted them behind my back and then over the bar
level with my armpits
. They pulled them down to my sides making me arch my back as the bar dug into upper arms and armpits. I yelled in pain as they attached my wrist bands by locking rings to the waist bar. They each took a leg and spread them to
meet the
post
s,
where they attached my ankle bands by locking rings to rings low down on the posts. I was now helpless and unable to move much except my head. However my collar was soon attached at the back to the top horizontal bar, which they moved upwards to tighten the collar against my neck making my head bend down slightly. Attention was now paid to the post between my legs. It was pulled upwards and thrust high into my vagina, then fixed in place.

“
I was completely helpless and unable to move. My
chest
was thrust forwards and my backside stuck out behind. My arched back ached and I could feel the sweat pouring down my spine. I watched as
a
blacksmith placed a number of irons into the hot coals.
The other was s
elect
ing
rings or links from boxes on the walls.

“
I heard voices from behind. The prison governor step
ped
in front of me
,
he was accompanied by a well-dressed woman. I was horrified, it was
Danielle! S
he had gone to such a length to follow me
to the prison
.
I learnt later that she
had
secretly
paid the prison authorities extra to give
me
a
special
regime of
hard punishment during
my
years on the island.
S
he took a good look at my body
, gave me
a sly smil
e, and told me she had
come to witness
my bran
ding. I shall
I’ll never forget it.

“
The governor
told me what was in store for me. In addition to my sentence of twelve
years hard labour
, my
sentence ha
d
been modified due to the serious nature of
my
crime. Normally life sentences incur multiple brandings, but
I was to
receive these as well. Also
I was
going to
be
ring
ed
in addition to
my
iron bands.
I was to remain
on th
e
island in solitary confinement and
under
hard labour.

“
The blacksmith took out a white hot iron from the coals and brought it over to me. He placed it so that I could see
it. H
e allowed it to cool to red and then blue-red. It was the fleur
-
de
-
lys
,
the symbol of the French state
and was
a good
two inches
high.
He stood with his free hand
on
my shaved pubis
and
applied
it
to my
left
arse cheek
, holding it in place for
some
time
. I screamed as it burnt my flesh
and then
I
passed out. I came to as a bucket of sea-water was thrown over me. The water felt good, but the salt stung my burn. The pain hit me as if I had been
skewered by a sharp sword
. The air was full of smoke that stank of burnt meat. It was my flesh that I could smell. I strained to see the mark but it was impossible.
T
he governor
remarked at the fine
mark
they had made.

“
The blacksmith returned with a white hot number
thirty-eight
.
He applied it to the
fleshy mound at the base of my spine, just above where the arse crease appears.
I passed out once again. The water revived me, but I was now much weaker.

“
After these first t
wo
brands the air was thick with the smoke from my flesh. It was stiflingly hot inside and the governor and
Danielle
had gone outside for air. The blacksmith took pity on me and threw another bucket of water over me. My
lower
body was racked with pain.

“
Eventually the governor and
Danielle
returned, chatting as if at
some function or
dinner. They remained behind me as the blacksmith brought over a white hot “TF” for me to see. It seemed huge at
three inches
across.
They told me that as I had been sentenced to
‘
travaux forcées
’
and that I
w
ould
be marked a
ccordingly.
The iron disappeared behind me and then I felt it on my backside. I screamed as it burnt into my
right
cheek for several seconds, but I did not pass out this time.
Danielle loved the mark and remarked at how deep I’d been branded.
My whole body was racked in pain
and m
y arms were completely numb.
”

“
They left again to go outside. What was next? That was
three
brands. Another splash of water hit my back and cooled my arse.
I was told it would soon be over, they were now going to ring me.
I was only half listening and did not understand what he was saying. The governor and
Danielle
returned, this time to my front.
Danielle
was obviously enjoying the whole procedure.

“
The blacksmith came back with a pair of tongs. These had flat round ends with a hole in them. He pinched my first nipple with them aligning the holes in the middle of the areoles. The second blacksmith handed him a thick red hot needle. He passed the needle through the holes in the tongs
and
through to the other side, piercing and burning a hole through the base of my nipple. I did not complain, watching almost detached from it all as if they weren’t my breasts. They pierced the other nipple in the same manner. Two heavy
inch
and a half
wide open iron rings were then threaded through the holes left in my flesh. I felt my breasts droop slightly under their weight.

“
I was released from the frame
and m
y wrists were reattached behind my back. I sunk to my knees in front of the governor and
Danielle
.
I was told that I would be whipped in front of Danielle before she left that afternoon. They both left
and the two blacksmiths helped me over to the anvil
.
I knelt down again with my breasts on the anvil.
A
fter
they had
twist
ed
the ring
s
in my nipples
through ninety degrees they hammered
them
shut. I
’d
suffered badly
and
I fainted and fell on the floor.

“
I was woken by more cold water
, to discover I had been put in an iron yoke
.
They had attached two short chains to my nipple rings that met in ring. A longer chain was attached to this and a guard pulled on it to get me up. He led me out by this chain into the courtyard. After attaching the chain to the top of a post and pulling it tight so that I was on my toes, I was whipped in front of Danielle and a number of officials.

“The rest of the story is too long and dreadful. I was c
hained naked all the time,
but it was so hot and humid it didn’t really matter. I
had to work hard and
took whipping after whipping
. The men used me regularly. By the way I was treated it was obvious I was
not expected to survive the full sentence.
But f
or
six
long years
I did manage to
survive.

“
Then
one day,
a tremendous hurricane devastated the island.
At the height of
th
e
storm
the
chain
attaching me to my prison cell was
broken by falling masonry
. In spite of the high winds and lashing rain, I
managed to
ma
k
e
my
way to the sea-shore
. A
s chance would have it
,
a small boat had broken loose
and floated close
by
.
I
waded out
to reach it and
threw myself in
.
Something hit me and I passed out. The boat, d
riven by the wind
,
must have
floated out to sea.

“Many days later, a
fter the storm had subsided, the pirate Captain
John
Booth, sailing from Trinidad to Cayenne
found
me
floating in
my
half sunken boat off the coast of Guyana
to the north
.
He took me aboard and took care of me, bringing me back to life. I
served under
Booth
as a crew member
for several years
as Jacqueline Quinn
. The prison authorities
had
listed
Christine Cartwright
as
missing, presumed
dead
, so I don’t really exist anymore.”