Penny felt cold all over. She crossed her arms over her leaking breasts and shivered.
“You don’t think they’ll have one today, do you? A Public Breeding, I mean?” she asked, barely forcing the words out.
“Who knows?” Claudette shrugged. “They did a lot of them in the week before the Unification Ceremony so they might hold off for a while. The only time you can be sure there’s going to be one is when they bring a fresh crop of breeders in they captured from Hell’s Gate. The Glorious Leader always likes to show off for the new breeders—let them know what’s in store for them.”
“But…I don’t want some stranger grabbing me and…and…” But Penny couldn’t go on.
“Then you’ve got to straighten up, like I said,” Claudette said, frowning. “Start acting like you belong here. Conform, Penny. And that means that tonight you go back to your Love Hut and get that big, scary-looking Forever Mate of yours to breed you properly and suck the nectar out of your breasts. If you start acting like a good little breeder, you might get transferred out of the Marketplace before the next Public Breeding.”
“But…what if I don’t get transferred?” Penny asked, her throat tight.
Claudette shrugged.
“Then you’ve got to just grin and bear it. I worked at the Marketplace for a time, when I first came here,” she added, a bitter look passing over her face. “I went through seventeen Public Breedings. Seventeen. And sometimes as soon as one male was finished with me another would take his place. And then another and another…” She shook her head and looked at Penny. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Nothing at all? What if you hide?” Penny protested.
Claudette shook her head.
“If they catch you hiding or running away when a male grabs you, you’re automatically recycled—resisting during a Public Breeding is the surest way to prove you’re not really hypnotized.”
“It is?” Penny whispered, putting a hand to her throat.
Claudette nodded.
“You’ll see what I mean if you see one—the minute the call goes out over the speakercons, all the female breeders come out of their shops and stalls specifically to make themselves available to the males. And believe me, the males come from all over, straight to the Marketplace the minute they hear the call,” she added grimly. “So if the Glorious Leader calls for a Public Breeding while you’re working in the bread stall, you’ve just got to take it.”
Penny honestly didn’t know if she could submit to letting some strange man—or men—rape her. Not even to save her own life.
“I might rather be recycled,” she whispered, not sure if she was talking to herself or to Claudette. “I might rather die than let…let that happen.”
“I thought that too, at first,” her friend said grimly. “But you’d be amazed how strong the will to survive is. You find you’ll do anything—endure anything—just to keep drawing your next breath.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I don’t understand it myself.”
“I still want to get out of here,” Penny told her in a low voice. “I think I might really have a chance. Do…do you want to try and come with me?”
She didn’t know what V’rex would say about having another person along on their escape but she couldn’t just leave Claudette here. The poor woman had been through so much trauma—she deserved a chance to get away.
But Claudette only sighed and shook her head.
“Always so hopeful. I wish I could share that hope with you, Penny, but I’m afraid you’ll just end up getting yourself recycled. Still, I wish the best for you. Here.”
She pulled something out of one of the pockets on the sides of her toga and pressed them into Penny’s hand. Penny looked down and saw two little squares of white, puffy material in her palm.
“Gauze?” she asked, looking up at Claudette.
“Super absorbent bandaging—we use it in the Breeding and Conception Center during surgical procedures,” Claudette corrected her. “You’re lucky I happened to have some with me. You can stick those squares to your nipples and they should be absorbent enough to soak up whatever nectar you leak today. But they’re only good for one use,” she added as Penny slipped the square white patches down the front of her toga and positioned them over her nipples—where they stuck to the sticky nectar. “So be sure you get your breasts drained tonight by your new husband.”
“Um…okay.” Penny nodded reluctantly. She still didn’t see how she could ask V’rex to suck the nectar out of her breasts. Just the idea made her cringe inside with mortification.
Claudette seemed to sense her hesitation.
“Do it!” she commanded, glaring fiercely at Penny. “Look—I don’t have any other friends here,” she added awkwardly. “I…I don’t want to lose you. So please, Penny—take care of yourself.”
Touched, Penny smiled at the other woman.
“I will,” she promised, though she still wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with V’rex.
“And have him breed you, too. It’s the only way to stay safe around here,” Claudette lectured. “You have to get pregnant regularly to avoid recycling.”
That was even less likely to happen, Penny thought, her cheeks getting hot with embarrassment. V’rex had promised not to rape her and she was glad he had.
“Here—I got you these.” Claudette reached in her other pocket and pulled out a handful of something Penny recognized.
“Oh—flavor sticks!” she exclaimed, taking them gladly from her friend. “Thank you, Claudette!”
“I know how much you like them.” The other woman shrugged stiffly. “And you can’t really get them outside the Breeding Center so…” She trailed off, shrugging again.
Impulsively, Penny leaned over and gave her a hug.
“Thank you,” she whispered into Claudette’s ear as the other woman hugged her back awkwardly. “You’re a wonderful friend. Thank you for warning me—I promise I’ll do a better job pretending to be hypnotized.”
“Well, you can start right now by being super
