The Story of Simon

3: The bidders gather

Half an hour later, Simon is beginning to relax. Every time he thinks of the auction ahead he feels a shooting panic rising from his stomach up to his throat. Instead, he concentrates on watching the people in the room, observing the Masters and Mistresses as they chat to each other, glance towards the cages, and occasionally come over for a closer look at the people for sale. Many seem to know each other, embracing like old friends, having animated conversations about goodness knows what. A woman in a black corset holding a Venetian mask whispers something - a joke perhaps, or a secret - to her friend. They burst out laughing and turn to look at a man across the room. Her friend opens her fan and covers her face to hide her giggles. The man sees them, blushes, and makes a hasty exit.

Small interactions, windows on other peoples' games, these keep Simon's mind distracted, stopping him from dwelling on the coming auction and what might happen to him...

Oh God, what might happen to him? He takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly. Time ticks on.

---

The other slaves in the cage are snatching whispered conversations. They are not supposed to talk to each other, at least Mistress Julie tells them off when she catches them. But Kate, crouching on his left, is still managing to chat with the slave next to her. The girl to Simon's right is more circumspect, she gives him a quick nod of acknowledgement, a smile, then looks away. She does not attempt to speak to him. Simon studies the tattoo on her shoulder, an intricately drawn plant design creeping from her back down to her arm, almost to the elbow. It has little pink flowers amongst the green leaves and winding stems. Next to the central stem there is a word – he tries to read it but he cannot make it out.

Simon's attention is drawn back to the room outside the cage, to a growing queue of people outside a door at the far end of the room. Another uniformed staff member stands between the queue and the door. She is talking to the man at the front, who is middle aged and overweight. His paunch spills over the top of a shiny latex skirt, his only item of clothing. The guard is writing notes on a clipboard. She disappears through the door, shutting it behind her. The man fidgets, shuffling his feet. A few minutes later she reappears. A short conversation, she shakes her head. The man turns and walks away, he looks disappointed. The guard starts talking to the next person in the line.

Suddenly, the door opens again. This time a tall thin woman with a punk hairstyle hair emerges. She is topless, clutching a piece of clothing across her chest to cover her breasts. She carries a bra in one hand. Despite her state of undress, her expression is serene as she glides across the room, lost in her own thoughts. She disappears into the bathroom. As she turns the corner, Simon sees a large rectangle of white gauze taped to the back of her shoulder. As the light emanating from the bathroom engulfs her, he notices a trail of drying blood dripping down her back.

"Kate?" Simon whispers. He keeps his eyes on the door at the far end of the room, not daring to turn towards her in case Mistress Julie is watching. More forcefully; "Kate?"

"What? Are you OK? Hey, this girl next to me was a slave in the stage show last year, isn't that cool?" Kate is still hyperactive, buzzing on the adrenaline. Not even being locked in a slave cage can shut her up.

"Kate, what's behind that door over there? What are those people waiting for? "

"What door? Where?"

"Over there, on the other side of the room? That metal door with the queue of people. What's going on inside?"

"Oh, that. That's Mistress Alannah's private play room. Invite only. They're trying to get in. Waste of time, you queue for ages and they turn most people away."