Sacrifice

I was sprinting recklessly through a humid jungle, casting frightened glances over my shoulder every time I heard noise. I burst onto a trail, expertly made and disguised, and glanced in as many directions as possible. After a second, confident enough that I was alone, I leant forward to catch my breath, hands resting on my thighs. Straightening I began walking along the trail in the direction I was facing, still trying to be vigilant, but I was also trying to place where I was. The jungle reminded me of those in Central America, making me wonder if I'd find a pyramid somewhere, and if I had to guess the trail was used to allow hunting.

I thought my theory correct when I came across a crude hut partially hidden among the overgrowth on the side of the trail, an archway the only way in. Stepping into the primitive construct I cast my eye over the interior, noting the beds of leaves that were the only things clearly visible. A quick search of the beds turned up nothing, implying the hut was currently abandoned, and I stood from my crouch.

I turned to leave the hut and screamed, skipping back from the well-built man, wearing only a length of cloth that hung between his legs and an animal-skin cloak, who was in the archway. It was him that I'd been running from earlier, after he'd frightened me almost witless. He grinned, the expression similar to one I'd seen on people used to getting what they wanted, but his was definitely more sinister. He rammed his spear into the ground, tip first, and barked out a sound at me. I stared back blankly, not understanding him, and he barked the same sound again, pointing at the ground while taking a menacing step forward. I knelt, not wanting to antagonise him further, and he glanced behind him, shouting out a stream of sounds.

A second man, holding a knife and lengths of firm-looking fibre restraints, entered the hut, making straight for me. I tried not to cringe when he cut away my tanktop and cargo trousers, even destroying my trainers, but I struggled wildly when he grabbed my arms and tried to bind my wrists together. The first man, who seemed to be the one in charge, grabbed his spear and levelled it at me, the threat obvious, and the fight left me then. I felt the other man finish tying me up, taking hold of my upper arms so he could haul me to my feet, and I was escorted from the hut.

---

Four other spear-wielding men, dressed identically to Leader, were on the trail, eating a quick meal of what appeared to be fruit. My stomach chose then to rumble, causing them to chuckle, and one extended a piece of their fruit towards me. I moved forward cautiously, expecting the other shoe to drop, but was unprepared for when Binder, as I'd named him, shoved me. I turned as I tried to maintain my balance, glaring at him, and he went to hit me. Leader stopped him with a curt sound, Binder glancing at him in frustration, and I was aware of how still the spearmen had become, as if violence was about to break out between Leader and Binder.

The moment passed as quickly as a tropical storm when Leader brushed Binder to one side with his spear and joined the other warriors, taking up a pair of fruits and holding one out for Binder. We set off when Leader had finished his fruit, heading back the way I'd come, and it wasn't long before we came across where I'd joined the trail. One of the spearmen, who I named Scar due to the healed injury he had on his right pectoral, scowled when he saw the damage but he didn't make a move against me, although Binder gave me another mocking shove.

The trail Leader's group had been on was a short distance further along, hidden behind a grouping of giant leaves, and Scar moved to be behind both me and Binder so he could arrange the leaves properly. Leader broke into a kilometre-swallowing jog when he started along this second trail, Binder forcing me to start jogging as well, and the time passed in virtual silence, the thudding of bare feet on the jungle floor the only sound I could hear.

Another arrangement of leaves marked the end of the trail and I gasped aloud at the sight of the paved road on the other side of the barrier. The men put on sandals they retrieved from within a tree stump, although there weren't any for me, and I moaned in despair, dreading travelling along the stone road at the pace we'd been using.

---

Soon after starting the jog along the road we came across the first sign of true civilisation I'd seen so far. It was a squat stone building, a guard post off to the left of the road, and we thankfully slowed to a simple walk as another group of men emerged from the building. The two groups came together, Leader and his opposite number starting what was obviously a conversation, even if I didn't understand what was being said. The conversation spread until everyone seemed to be speaking but my attention was diverted when Binder let out a yell. A woman ran from the building, her movements swift and confident, and she gracefully dropped to her knees at his side, almost nuzzling his thigh. Binder then called out to me, the third time I'd heard that particular noise, and I slowly sank to my knees, noticing the men observing me with a variety of reactions.

 
The woman was presumably a slave, like me she was naked, but she was also draped in a staggering amount of jewellery. Each slender limb was adorned by bands of what appeared to be gold and an intricate network of fine chains criss-crossed her svelte body from neck to ankles. I was horrified as I stared at my probable future and shuddered when I noticed Binder smiling at my reaction. He sent the other woman back into the building with a push and moved to stand over me, jabbering away in his language.

We continued along the road, passing three other guard posts, and it was just after the third when I stumbled, falling exhausted to the ground. Not even a lash of Binder's whip could get me up, the pain instead making me curl up into a foetal position, and eventually he got a pair of the spearmen to take turns carrying me, disgust on his face.

---

Thus I entered a city slung over a spearman's shoulder. Binder had tried teaching me words whilst I was being carried and on top of already knowing the word for 'kneel' I now knew the words for 'master', 'slave', 'heel' and 'stay'. It was 'heel' that I heard after being unceremoniously dumped on the ground and as I tried to rise to my feet I took a look around. Dozens of pyramids lined the road, scores of people going about their lives, but no-one seemed to show any interest in us, too caught up in what appeared to be a festive atmosphere.

Binder had noticed my curiosity though and I cried out as he slapped my ass, turning to glare at him. He slapped me a second time as the group began moving, growling that I should again heel, and we headed deeper into the city. I was cautiously watching my surroundings, ready to lower my gaze if Binder looked in my direction, and I noticed the pyramids, laid out in a grid system, were slowly getting larger and more opulent.

We stopped at a three-way junction at the centre of the city, an already large but still actively expanding pyramid dominating the area, when a tattooed man approached. A smaller and undecorated step pyramid sat on one of the junction's corners, an oppressive air hanging over it in contrast to everywhere else, and it was towards this pyramid that Binder began dragging me when Leader nodded his assent. He untied my hands as we climbed up a flight of stairs to the pyramid's entrance on the first floor, not like I could really escape at this point, and I slipped from his grip before turning, reaching out for Leader and actually crying out piteously in their tongue.
"Master!"
Binder took hold of my outstretched arm, spinning me round and to my knees before pointing at himself.
"I Master!"
He continued dragging me up the steps, my cries becoming more and more desperate but Binder halted with a cruel smile flitting across his face when Leader called out, his tone strong and authoritative.

---

After I was led back down the steps Leader guided me through the city of pyramids until we were near a waterfront. I could hear gulls and eventually spotted a pair flying above a pyramid that had mostly smooth sides for about three quarters of its height, a pole with an unlit lantern at its peak. Scores of huts lay in the shadow of the pyramid, all with a line of sight to the pyramid's tip, and I was led to a large one, Leader pushing me through a thin curtain. The interior was as bare as the hut in the jungle, with enough fur beds for the group and a small cauldron that a spearman moved to start leaning over, using a long-handled spoon to stir the stew within the cauldron.

I felt completely open when everyone else turned to look at me. Only Binder kept leering for more than a few seconds and he stepped around the spearmen to stand in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders and forcing me to my knees. He used a hand to shift his cloth, exposing himself to me, and I grimaced as he pulled me forward, voicing just a single word whose meaning was obvious from his actions.

I'm no stranger to sex but I usually knew more about my partners beforehand. Binder frowned at my reluctance, reaching for a leather crop hanging from a hook on the wall. I tracked the crop's movement and flinched as Binder lightly rested its tip at the small of my back, repeating the word he'd just made.

I leant in, taking Binder's member into my mouth, and felt a hand wrap itself within my hair. He bucked when I curled my tongue along the underside of his length and I grinned to myself despite the situation. The sooner it was over the better.

I sucked Binder's cock for about a couple of minutes, occasionally curling my tongue, and I tried to keep the disgust from my face when I felt him tense, globules of his juices spurting into my mouth. Binder pushed me away, sated by his dominance act, and I stayed where I was when he returned to where he'd been, unsure of what I was supposed to do. Leader was the next to approach and I glanced up when he stood in front of me. The predatory expression he'd worn when in the jungle hut was back on his face and I felt more nervous than when with Binder.
"Master?"
He pointed at the bedding as he began untying the string keeping his cloth in place, his meaning obvious, and he held out a hand so that Binder could give him the crop when I hesitated.

I scrambled to the nearest bed and turned to see Leader finish removing his scant clothing and cloak. His male organ, already hard, put Binder's to shame and I shuffled back as he stepped up to the bed until my back hit the wall. Leader knelt, grabbing my knees and pushing them apart, and moved to occupy the space he'd created. Taking hold of his member he thrust into me, forcing a pained cry from me, and I tried to turn my head to one side. Leader took hold of my chin, his grip painful enough to make me cry out again, and I stared at his face as he raped me, desperately trying to ignore what my body was doing.

When he was finished it was like I didn't exist. Leader helped himself to food from the cauldron, settling down as part of the circle formed by his men, and I watched as they clearly began having a discussion. None of the spearmen seemed to show any interest in me but I was anxious, suspecting that it was only a matter of time before they acted.

---

I was snapped from my overwrought state by the crack of a whip, tensing as I remembered the pain it could cause. The same man who'd stopped the group at the junction, tribal-looking tattoos adorning every limb and covering his face, was looming over the bed I was still sitting on and gesturing for me to stand, a whip in one hand and a thick staff in the other.
"Slave." I scrambled to my feet as he gave the whip a little shake and he turned away, walking towards the curtain. "Heel."
Leader and his squad were lined up outside, being attended to by a pair of women with similar tattoos as the man, but he led me past them without a single glance. I went to look back at them but stopped when the man thumped his staff against the road. Leader took his gaze from the woman kneeling in front of him and pointed at the tattooed man, glaring at me.
"Heel!"

We walked through the streets, making our way through an increasingly large number of people, until we were standing at the three-way junction we stopped at earlier. Other tattooed men emerged from the crowd, each accompanied by a slave whose beauty set them apart from the locals, and we were all escorted towards the large pyramid dominating the junction. A long flight of stairs led us up to the flat summit of the original construct and I paused when I saw the altar, the block of stone stained the deep crimson of old blood. A shove got me moving again, heading into the small building atop the pyramid, and I found myself speedily passed from person to person until I was bound by the wrists to the interior wall. One of the tattooed men, they must have been priests within this culture, stepped up to be in front of me and roughly inserted his member into me, ignoring my cry of pain and taking hold of my hips. The building was soon filled with the sounds of sex but each time a priest climaxed the slave he was raping was unchained and led out. When it came to my turn, feeling the priest's juices starting to trickle down my inner thighs, I was resistant, not knowing what would happen. With a thud the priest bought the top of his staff down on my head and I staggered forward, unable to stop the priest from dragging me towards the altar. I noticed the stacked corpses as I was placed atop the altar, head still lolling about from the earlier hit, and felt the blood drain from my face when I spotted the great wound splitting the chest of each body.

The priest came into my field of view, a wicked-looking long knife in hand, and as I went to get off the altar I was stopped by a tugging on my wrist. Looking I let out a quiet moan of despair upon seeing a cuff around the joint and sagged back against the stone, resigned to my approaching death.

The pain when the knife was plunged into my chest was terrible and my scream rang out. The priest dragged the knife up between my breasts and I choked when he reached into my chest cavity, taking a firm hold of my heart. On the verge of blacking out I lifted my head for a moment, groaning as waves of fresh pain swept over me, and I let my head fall as the priest began withdrawing his arms, too weak to keep watching...