We stood in front of the Major’s desk like errant school children. There were no chairs so we knew we were in trouble and he was clearly not in a good mood. The summons came a few days after a holiday, a holiday that we’d spent in the children’s community homes. We’d written a piece on them and were impressed with the welfare and care the children received and the standard of their schooling. Two boys had been chastised while we were there but we didn’t consider the punishment excessive considering the country that we were in. It was no more than children received in England thirty years previously. I tried to think of anything we could have done wrong but nothing came to mind.

“Colonel Nubaro has received a complaint from your editor about the last few articles you’ve written and he reprimanded me because I approved them. They were considered, in Ted’s words, to be too vanilla which I assume means that there wasn’t enough sex or punishment in them. He threw the email to me.


Colonel,

The last few articles I’ve received from my reporters in your country have been well written and have kept the interest of the women here but the men, who mainly are the ones buying the uncensored DVD, are complaining that the subject matter of the last few have been too vanilla in content and sales have dropped. In view of this I would appreciate it if they could be sent to report on something a little more challenging’.

Yours

Ted>

I read the email twice before passing it to Roger. I guessed it was similar to the previous one from Ted that Roger saw in Riku’s office. His face fell and it took on that scared look that I’d become to know so well. With shaking hands he passed it to Sumala who read it without commenting. We waited in suspense for the Major to tell us our fate but he seemed to be taking a great delight in prolonging our agony. I’m sending the two of you to prison, the main prison. Sumala who has nothing to do with the writing and will not have to guide you there, can stay behind, he finally announced with a smile. The tone of his voice made it sound as if we were to be incarcerated, possibly for an unknown length of time. Incarcerated without Sumala’s protection.

“But why Major? What have we done that was really wrong? We’ve only reported on the things we’ve seen and done. Mainly things you’ve sent us to see. The email says they were well written and the women liked them and they are the ones you want to come here. You’re surely not going to have us whipped again and put away just so we can experience prison life first hand?”

“The most popular DVD’s are the ones showing you being strapped at the airport and caned at the whipping post.”

“But but I’m pregnant now with your baby I heard Roger hit the floor but didn’t make any attempt to pick him up this time.

“Many girls who’ve been flogged, even in the more advanced stages of pregnancy, go on to have healthy babies. At that moment I guessed he was playing cat and mouse with me. He grinned widely.

“You want us to witness the execution and report on it?”

The case had made the headlines of the local paper. S’naya, an ugly brute of a man, had dragged a young girl from the field where she was working and raped her. Because she struggled and resisted, he afterwards thrust a knife into her belly. Surgeons were able to save the life of the girl but not the baby. Worse, the girl would not be able to have any further children. The court had decided it was rape because the girl was at work at the time and took a severe stance over the fact that not only had the girl nearly died, she would no longer be able to perform the manual work she’d been doing to provide for herself nor would she have any more children and contribute to the country’s economy. Public opinion made much of the fact that it was the girl’s fifth child, one that she would have kept. The execution by firing squad was scheduled for three days time.

“Please Major, don’t do this to us. You know capital punishment is abhorrent to our way of life. I don’t think I could stand the sight of seeing someone killed in cold blood. Please Major don’t send us there. I begged and pleaded but he still just smiled. I knew he already made the decision.

“You will witness it just as will all the other inmates of the prison. From his use of the words as will all the other inmates of the prison’, I was half afraid we were all going to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment there to fully understand the regime but his words were ambiguous and again I felt he was playing a game with us. You will report to the holding prison at ten o’clock tomorrow morning ready for transporting to the prison with another woman who is to start her sentence. You will lock the link between you and leave the key with Sumala. The guards at the prison will open the link if required.”

“How long will they be kept there Sir? Sumala asked.

“That I will decide after I have talked with the governor and that might depend on their behaviour. The Major turned to me, Get out now and make what arrangements you need for a stay in prison. Take your laptop and cameras and whatever else you need to do an in depth report, and make sure you use them.”

Despondently we sat in the IT office and discussed the situation. Roger was convinced that we were going to be kept in until the Tumali government received the aid they wanted. Neither Sumala nor I believed that to be the case. Are we being sent in as reporters or taken and kept as prisoners and subjected to the punishments other prisoners received and then have to write a story on them? I asked Riku.

“Colonel Nubaro gets emails direct from your boss, Ellie, they don’t come through our office so I haven’t even seen it and until you told me, I had no idea this was to happen. She genuinely didn’t seem to know but she cuddled Roger like a very concerned mother as though to protect him.

As you can imagine, we didn’t get much sleep that night. Even with Sumala’s attentions, my thoughts continually worried about the next few days or weeks.

Promptly at nine-thirty two local guards appeared. We knew them of course but that day they had serious expressions. Sorry Miss Ellie, but we’re here to arrest you. Are you ready?”

“Almost. Do you know My voice broke.

“Sorry, the guard replied, They only told us to come and get you and to march you to the holding prison. Has Sumala got the key?”

I nodded and Sumala came and gave me a hug and a kiss. It would be the first time for months we’d be separated. When I thought back to that first night in the cell and what I thought of his behaviour then and what I thought of him now, I realised just how much I had changed. Walk tall Bluestone girl. Don’t let them see you cowed. Somehow that boosted my morale and I knew, even if it was for Sumala’s sake, I would have to look as though I was in charge.

“Shall we go gentlemen? I remarked to the guards and received a smile from them in return and a scowl from Roger. Several times he stumbled and we had to wait for him to pick himself up before continuing. Nevertheless we arrived before our appointed time.

Nurse Muniba checked us over but didn’t say much. Her face wore a worried expression especially when she examined Roger. How many times has he passed out from pain now? she enquired.

“I don’t know nurse, lots. Is that a problem?”

“Is he able to withstand more pain now before he fades?”

“Less if anything. Sometimes he only has to think it is going to be painful.”

“Keep a close watch on him. She wrote a lengthy note on her board and left us without further explanation. I wondered if she knew what was to happen to us or whether she surmised that we would be treated like other Tumalian prisoners. The guards locked us in a cell. Further along, I heard a woman crying but I couldn’t see her properly because she lay curled up on her bed with her back to us.

“That’s Shenau, Zulam, who I recognised from our first visit, informed us, She’s going with you. We’re waiting on the van now. She’s had twenty lashes of the whip and has been given seven days in prison. You might have to be careful with her. Loses her temper quickly and when her main man wouldn’t leave, she hit him with a pan and broke his arm. She’s still in a lot of pain although the new whipmaster doesn’t strike as hard as the old one. Even so, twenty for a woman is plenty and she’ll get more punishment in the other place I thought he was going to add, and so will you, but he didn’t and I guess that made me all the more worried. Roger looked sick but didn’t actually vomit.

For over an hour we sat side-by-side and waited. Roger, I knew was very fearful of what was to happen to us. I was too but I thought that I could see behind the plan; because we weren’t being told of our fate, I suspected all we were going through now, was to make us feel like we were real prisoners and would be dealt with in the same way. However, the fact we had brought our reporting equipment meant we would have to have some free time to use it. How much? How free? They were questions I couldn’t answer.

Eventually our cell was unlocked and we were led out. Near the door, Muniba appeared again and thrust a sealed envelope in my hand. Give that to the staff there and try and make sure they read it. With that she left and I had the impression that she was doing more than was called for in her line of duty. This worried me greatly and it probably did Roger too but before we could discus it, they hustled us into the police van and shackled us to the rear seats. These guards were definitely more brutal than the ones at the holding prison and went out of their way to make things difficult for us. Their straps were continually in their hands and used to chivvy us into the positions they wanted.

Shenau hobbled in after us and when she wasn’t quick enough the guard gave her a push, causing her to stumble and cry out as she pulled the muscles in her back. This didn’t deter him from thrusting her hard into the seat opposite us and making her scream as her arse hit the hard wood. We only glimpsed the welts on her back as she was twisted round but what we saw horrified us and then to treat the poor woman with such brutality seemed almost inhuman. We could foresee our having a rough time in prison and Roger was already shaking with fear but from the way we were shackled, I couldn’t even hold his hand. From the attitude of the guard we rightly guessed that prisoners there wouldn’t be treated as kindly as in the holding prison. Shenau bowed her head and sobbed as he guard shackled her in place.

To my surprise he then came to me, lifted my skirt high and stared at my crotch for a short while. We should all get to try out a bit of white cunt now, he grunted and pushed a finger into my dry opening. I gave a little cry but his efforts to feel me were short lived because the driver called out and told him to lock the doors so they could get going.

It was with a real sense of foreboding I heard the doors slammed and the locks sliding loudly into place. We were confined in a dark, hot, metal box with small, deeply tinted windows set so high up that we couldn’t see out. That in itself was enough to send shivers of fear through us. Shenau cried as the van bounced us around and aggravated her welts but I could do nothing to help. Shackled, I couldn’t cuddle Roger to give him a little comfort.

Inside the van the heat became stifling and soon my clothes were soaked with sweat. Shenau, I could see in the dim light, was glistening with sweat too and as the journey progressed I wondered if we were going to make it before were passed out but we did and it was a great relief to feel the fresh air when the doors were opened. They unshackled Shenau and for the first time we clearly saw the deep welts across her back and arse. I suppose they weren’t any worse than those Sumala had when he was returned from the whipping post but any healing Muniba had done was nullified by the rubbing and chafe of the slatted wooden seats during the journey. I was appalled at the cruelty but the guards didn’t seem affected by the sight and when she didn’t move quickly enough for them one used his strap on her already tortured arse. The poor woman gave a tremendous scream and fell to the ground, only to be hauled roughly to her feet and pushed towards the main door.

Both Roger and I felt the strap too when our chain snagged and we were brought to a sudden halt but the blow wasn’t hard enough for Roger to pass out. We’d hardly gone five steps across the courtyard when the guard deliberately and forcefully lashed Roger again. This time he went out like a light and lay still on the flagstones. I’d heard you was a mummy boy but I didn’t believe you were as tender as that, the guard grinned and then kicked Roger on the rear and ordered him up. When he didn’t move he kicked again.

“No! I yelled, You’ll kill him! I knelt down to give him some protection and received a hard lash with the strap across my back. This was pure sadistic cruelty.

“Get up and get him inside, I was ordered.

It took a great deal of effort to lift him, especially as the chain continually got in the way but I managed it and dragged him into the main building. In front of a desk, I sat him on the floor. Roger was still unconscious and showing no signs of life. I was becoming increasingly worried.

“Stand up! the woman behind the desk shouted. During my efforts to lift him, the chain had become entangled so both of us would have to stand. Even using all my strength I was barely able to hold him and when my foot slipped we both fell to the floor. Fortunately Roger started to come round and howled and cried but I was able to get us both to our feet. Undress and be quick about it. We need to examine you, the woman snapped.

To one side I could see Shenau being examined, mauled would have been a better term. I dropped my skirt and Roger managed eventually to get his shorts down but of course we couldn’t take our shirts off properly because of the chain. You will have to unlink us first…please.”

“Criminals do not tell us what to do bitch, the woman screamed in my face.

“We’re not criminals, I protested.

“Maybe, maybe not. The letter from Colonel Nubaro says you are to be treated like them. Give them another couple Zard, perhaps they will realise their position then.”

Almost before the strap touched Roger, he was on the floor. For a while he lay still and then his body started shaking and his limbs went out in all directions. Zard raised his strap. No! Don’t be a stupid fool! You’ll kill him and then there will be hell to pay. I screamed as the strap hit me instead. Roger continued to thrash about on the floor and with the chain linkage, my arm was being thrown around too. Suddenly I remembered the envelope. Here read the notes the nurse sent. Don’t kill him. Don’t. My words must have had some effect because Zard stopped and the woman picked up the envelope but didn’t look inside. She just stared at the pair of us, seemingly not knowing what to do.

“What’s going on here? A man wearing a decent looking uniform entered. I rightly guessed he was the governor.

“Please Sir, he’s having a fit. He can’t help it Sir. His body cannot stand pain. Please ask them to stop Sir.”

To my surprise he immediately ordered a warder, Get a medic…pronto. I quickly noted the difference between guards and warders. Guards wore a camouflaged uniform, were armed with a pistol and carried a leather strap; warders wore a blue uniform but only had a strap.

In the short time it took for the medic to arrive, Roger began to quieten but it was still some time before he really awoke and then he seemed very dazed. The medic did examine him and declared that there was nothing wrong with his heart but Roger probably had a dehabilitating syndrome that was triggered by pain but that was totally outside of his experience. I wondered if we would be released but that thought was quickly dashed.

The governor turned to the woman at the desk. Process them but strictly heed the Colonel’s instructions. His letter said if I remember correctly, As far as practical, treat them like they are criminals having been sentenced to a term inside here. It isn’t practical to punish them in quite the same way as usual. Reserve any severe punishments for major breaches of discipline. Remember, they will undoubtedly tell the world of their experiences here. Be strict with them but don’t overdo it, especially with the boy. Have them brought to my office in one hour.”

“Yes Sir, the woman responded but I could see she resented the order. It only took a few moments for them to remove our shirts and refasten the chain. We were both completely naked, except that I was still allowed to wear my bluestone, when they made us stand with our hands spread high on the wall for our examination. We have to check that you are not carrying drugs or anything in your body cavities, the woman grinned and proceeded to frisk Roger. Her idea of frisking meant kneading his flesh and particularly his prick and balls. I received similar treatment from a male guard. It was definitely a sexual examination although not a very painful one except when the areas caught by the strap were squeezed and twisted.

This over we joined up with Shenau again and were marched naked along stone corridors to what was labelled the shower room. Our clothing was not given back to us but my backpack with the laptop and cameras were and from that I deduced that we were going to have to record our experiences. We weren’t the only one recording our experiences. At one point, Roger tripped and when I turned I noticed a man surreptitiously filming us. This frightened me as I guessed we would be treated harshly so the DVD would find a ready market. Shenau was allowed nothing at all. The poor girl walked bent over like an old woman and was in considerable pain. I tried to support her a little by wrapping her arm around my shoulder and received what was almost a smile in return. Although we tried to hurry along, it wasn’t fast enough for the guard, (I suspect that if we’d run like athletes that wouldn’t have been fast enough) and we received more stinging slaps from the strap.

On entering the room, the first thing I noticed was the lack of showerheads. The room was virtually bare. Three tiled walls and a floor with a large central drain. We soon found out why when the warder pulled a hose from the wall and sprayed us with the high-pressure jet. The force knocked us all to the floor but the jet continued to play over our bodies, particularly our sexual parts. The pounding water caused us to scream in pain and in the end the three of us managed to huddle in a heap. On your feet. The order came as soon as he turned the water off and before we had time to recover. Again we were inspected and my vagina came in for special attention but I wasn’t fucked. I guessed the rule about not doing it while on duty applied there too. Dripping and still spluttering and coughing from the water that had forced its way up our nostrils, he led us outside into the sunshine to dry and then to the governor’s office where we nervously stood in front of his desk.

“Stand up straight! Our warder escort barked the order and I did my best to comply. Shenau had difficulty in standing, let alone standing upright. The strap hit her already sore shoulders and she collapsed. Immediately I took it upon myself to help the wailing woman to her feet and tried to support her. To his credit, Roger moved so she was between us and helped to support her too. The warder raised his strap again but fortunately the governor signalled him to retire to the doorway. The three of us stood, shaking and fearful, while the governor circled round and inspected us. Finally he returned to his desk.

“Shenau, you are here for seven days, Eves and Hart, you are to stay until Colonel Nubaro orders your release. I long ago noticed that the Tumalians rarely used their family name so it didn’t come as a surprise that we alone were so addressed. All three of you will be subject to the prison rules, punishments and work schedules. Life here is not easy and is not intended to be. I’ve heard about the way they coddle prisoners in England but here we treat criminals severely, as you will find out. I wanted to point out that we weren’t criminals but thought that might provoke him. You English people will follow the same schedule as Shenau but the Colonel has decreed that you will be allowed, indeed he insists that you do, carry your cameras at all times and you are to photograph whatever you need for your report. The warders have been informed of this. You are also to write a daily report on your laptop. This will be sent without editing directly to the Colonel via our intranet link. As I understand it, your editor complained that you last reports were not gruesome enough and that is why you are here.”

“Sir, I ventured, Are we being put in a Catch 22 situation whereby if we don’t write graphically enough of our experiences here, we will be forced to stay longer and if we do, the prison staff will punish us for saying how cruel they are?”

To my surprised he answered civilly and carefully. The Colonel will be the only person to see your reports, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re kept here until sufficient material has been gathered to satisfy your boss. Now Bluestone Eves, your status here is such that you will have authority over other prisoners, male or female, but not over the guards and warders and you will not be able to refuse any man access to your body when they and you are not working. Being a white woman, you must expect the staff particularly to want to put their pricks in you even if it is only for the novelty of it. I shall be doing so in a few moments. Other prisoners will have limited access to you but we try to rotate the cell in which all female prisoners sleep so all the men get some satisfaction. Hart, from the letter the nurse sent I see that for medical reasons, the punishment we can give you is limited but I expect the warders will device other ways to punish you and it may well be that your bluestone partner will have to take your share of the punishments as well as her own.”

“Oh No! I cried out but it had no effect. I pleaded that I was pregnant with the Major’s baby but that didn’t have any effect either.

“Thrashing your arse or back won’t affect the baby’s development and nor will having my prick and many others in your cunt. Now untangle yourself and lay across my desk. The way Roger had moved to support Shenau, caused our chain to wrap round her body. She had recovered sufficiently to stand if not properly upright. So far during this interview she’d hardly said a word but stood to one side while the governor fucked me. It was a short fuck and afterwards a female orderly, who from the stripes on her uniform was senior to the other warder, took us to the cells. Like everyone, she carried a strap and didn’t hesitate to use it to hurry us along.

To delay the inevitable, I asked to photograph her, Shenau and other things as we went along, and reluctantly, she allowed it. I guessed that I was walking a fine line between delaying the inevitable and provoking her anger at the delays.

The cells were almost identical to the ones in the holding prison except there were two beds in each cell, one against each wall and, although they were no bigger, the beds were for two people. That was going to be awkward for us if I had to service other prisoners and Roger had to be in the same bed. At the time all the cells were empty. Shenau was put into one and we were shown into the next and told that would be ours for that night, however, we were taken further on to a room used by the warders. You will use this room to do your reports because there are no power points in the cells. The warders have been told not to interfere with you will you are working here and they are not to read what you write. That table in the corner is for you. You may start now. She left abruptly leaving us with the one warder in the room.

I plugged in the laptop and whispered to Roger because I wasn’t sure if we could talk but the warder seemed friendlier or at least less abusive, and said, It’s okay, you’re allowed to speak here provided you are nice to me. Of course I guessed what being nice to him meant and as soon as he saw that Roger was downloading the camera pictures and I wasn’t actually working he had me between his legs sucking his prick.

Some time later we heard sounds of the other prisoners returning punctuated by sounds of leather striking flesh and yelps from the recipients. Warders herded us into line with them and took us to the canteen where they served a thin tasteless soup in a plastic bowl and a chunk of hard bread. Our fellow prisoners looked a strange and forbidding bunch especially as they all bore the stripes of whippings and the marks of the strap. All talked in hushed voices but I know much of the conversation and all their eyes centred on me. My white skin and my blonde hair stood out and I wished I could make myself invisible. Everyone knew who we were so I had no need to introduce us but the buxom woman sitting opposite did ask why I was in. Just a whim of the Colonel’s, I whispered back and she nodded knowingly.

In the cell that evening, an almost continuous stream of warders and guards came and fucked me until I was so sore I hardly dared touch my cunt and my mouth tasted like a sewer. Roger did try to ease my soreness by cleaning my crotch with wet paper towels but there was little he could do. In the other bed, one of the two naked men force fucked the other and I wondered if he came from the Mummy Boy Camp but at least he didn’t seem to want to have me. Neither Roger nor I got any sleep that night. Shenau was fucked by her cellmates but the warders didn’t bother with her. I cursed my appearance, I cursed the Colonel and above all I cursed Ted and it was then I made up my mind that his balls would suffer when and if we ever got home.

I won’t bore you with a recital of the hardships of the next two days. They were a blur of pain and humiliation except for the hour twice a day when we were allowed in the warder’s room to do our report. Roger not being able to take his fair share of the punishment made my situation worse. It was not really his fault but it made my life so much more painful. Our work was scrubbing the stone floors of the prison and being chained meant he had to work left-handed. The first morning set the scene for the next two days. The warder on duty was a well-built woman who delighted in flicking her strap over our exposed arses. Half an hour into the work, she decided that we weren’t working hard enough and thought she might get away with lashing the soles of Roger’s feet. Even though she didn’t hit them all that hard, he blacked out straightaway. I of course, started screaming at her not to kill him and that she wasn’t allowed to hit him. He came round fairly quickly this time and then the evil woman made me push my arse in the air and I knew what to expect but not the ferocity of it. The first blow knocked me down to the floor. I screamed at the top of my voice but she ordered me into position again. Somehow I managed it only to be knocked down again by the force of the leather. Abruptly she ordered me up again and with a grin said, Get used to it, you haven’t had part of his yet and then there’s yours to come. The pain was horrendous but I knew from speaking to my cellmate the previous night, that refusal usually led to a session with the cane at the whipping post in the courtyard. After the fourth hit I couldn’t get to my knees and the pain was so bad I felt sick. Another warder came by and hauled me in position. I prayed that I would pass out but I didn’t. After the sixth, she said, That’s for your boyfriend’s share, now for yours. Some of the strokes went lower and caught me across my thighs but the last one, and I don’t know if it was deliberate or not, the end caught me fully on my cunt and clit. For a while, I was past caring about what she said but just writhed in agony on the ground. Vaguely I heard Roger pleading for her to stop but she ordered us to continue with our scrubbing. I physically couldn’t but Roger sort of got me on my knees and the woman left us alone for a while. For much of the rest of the day, Roger kept apologising but I knew there was little he could do about it. The bitch just wanted to see me suffer. Perhaps she hated bluestone women.

The fact that I’d had a severe thrashing didn’t stop me getting further doses and by the end of the morning I couldn’t stand without the help of another prisoner who half carried me to the communal shower where two warders sprayed us with high-pressure hoses. Fortunately after a meagre lunch, we were allowed to write a report but this time Roger had to do most of the typing because the pain was too great to even think straight. I hadn’t used my camera at all that morning but Roger had used his several times as an excuse to get us a break from scrubbing. One he’d taken of my arse almost made me vomit to look at it. I hope it pleases bloody Ted to see that!”

When we’d finished our rough draft, the warder took us to the governor’s office where we connected the laptop to the intranet and sent the report to Colonel Nubaro. It seems you are finding things a little difficult here, the Governor observed.

“Of course we are! I retorted, So would you if you were expected to work with one hand chained and then take the punishment for two people. The bastard just grinned and I had a feeling this was all part of the game plan.

“Well let’s see if you are warm inside too. He dropped his shorts and I draped myself across his desk. The first touch of his prick in my opening had me screaming again and he pulled out in disgust. Take them back to their work, he yelled at the warder.

By the end of the second day I could only stand with difficulty but for some reason I wasn’t molested in my cell. Kulu, one of my cellmates that night, was the huge fellow that had helped me to the shower after my thrashing of the previous day and he took me under his wing and made sure none of he others interfered with me. He’d been flogged with a whip for repeated drink violations and was in for 30 days. By then he’d served over half his time and yet his back still hadn’t healed because of the treatment with the strap kept opening the welts. The more I saw and heard of the cruelty in this prison, the more I hated the system that allowed it. Did those in charge of the country know what went on in that place? I resolved they would by the time I left if I left.

Near noon on the third day everyone assembled in the courtyard. My big friend Kulu supported me and we were made to stand in the front so we had a good view and our cameras were ready in our hands. The governor had instructed us, on pain of further punishment to make sure we obtained pictures of the execution and when I complained about the disgust I felt about the whole event he said, You’re reporters, or supposed to be, it will be a scoop for you. No other reporters in the world will get to see it. Not even the local papers are allowed in. Make sure you get good pictures. They will be seen around the world. If not there is always the post in the courtyard I knew that wasn’t quite true because of the man filming us was around all the time.

S’naya was led out between two warders and with an armed guard escort. Roger was shaking more than I was but I hissed, Take pictures. Watching through the viewfinder, seemed to take our minds away from the reality somewhat but even so I felt very sick as we photographed him being tied to the stake and memories of my being tied to the whipping post came back vividly in my mind. I looked at the man. He might be an ugly brute, he might have killed a baby and seriously injured a woman but I wondered if he deserved to die. But if the alternative was to be kept in this prison for a long period, perhaps death was the kindest option. At that moment S’naya didn’t think so and yelled obscenities at his captors and evoked the spirits of some god unknown to me and threatened everyone with curses on their families if they went ahead and killed him. It made no difference. At the stroke of twelve, the order came for the five man firing squad to raise their riffles. Roger had his camera trained on them, I pointed mine at S’naya.

“Fire! Five shots rang out. I clicked the shutter several times. Screams came from the whipping post. S’naya was not dead. Blood poured from his genitals.

The governor’s voice came over the address system. That is for the death of the baby he killed. He will now die for all the unborn babies the girl cannot have and the injuries he gave her. I vomited and it seems that held proceedings up for a few minutes. Kulu hissed, Get ready to take more pictures. Don’t make him wait any longer than necessary. My hands shook as I raised the camera again and heard the order to fire. Almost automatically I pressed the shutter. The man slumped. Five bullets found their way into his chest. I sagged to the ground. The next thing I remember was Kulu carrying me to the warder’s room. Roger was walking but his face was ashen neither of us felt like writing but the governor was alongside us and urging us to send in our report. Physically and mentally we were drained and vaguely I remember the medic coming and giving us an injection. Some sort of stimulant, I guess, because we both suddenly awoke from the haze and were able to start the work they wanted. Even so it was two hours before we sent the report down the line. Some of the delay was caused by my not being able to sit properly to type and only having one computer to download the photos and do the writing, but much of it was due to the objectionable nature of the material and also the fact that I felt it was necessary to put the horror of it all in the most graphic words possible. I wanted the whole world to know just how barbaric the system was. It was my duty to those inside and to those outside who might influence and make changes to the system. I know Roger was fearful that we might be incarcerated for a longer period but at the back of my mind, I believed the reverse would be the case. In my mind, the General himself wanted the world to know just how strictly he controlled the country and again that was to deter the wrong people coming and those that didn’t really want to stay for good.

I must have been right. Two hours after sending the report, to our great surprise and relief, an ambulance took us back to Chapoti and our room in Government House. Muniba came and almost cried when she treated me and for a little while I was blissfully free of pain. We didn’t even get an apology from the Major when he visited us in my room after learning that I wouldn’t be able to work for several days at least. Sumala though was most concerned and angry at the way my body had been marked again and Riku and the IT staff we utterly horrified at what I had been through, just to get a story. I gather their views filtered back to the Major via Shelumba but he never mentioned it.