The crone set up the cooking pots and we gathered any firewood we could find. A few of the women then put the oats or other flour into the pots and would cook the evening gruel.

While this was happening, the soldiers would have their way with Vera. It became a routine. As soon as the pots were set up, she would undress, leaving her garments on the ground in front of us. Ludmilla usually picked them up and folded them. She would then walk to the nearest large tree and the crone would tie her wrists behind it. If there was no suitable tree, she would be tied to the side of the wagon, again by her wrists. Her legs were left free. She would part them and stand in a semi crouch waiting for the first one to begin.

She always looked them in the face, unless the officer was watching, then she would look at him, her deep blue eyes unblinking. The receptiveness and impassiveness infuriated a couple of the soldiers; they liked to show their power, inflict pain and see fear. She was always wet and open and the fine points of her large nipples were erect, but she showed no reaction to their thrusting, even when they put their deepest efforts into it. Even when they grabbed her breasts roughtly, she did not react.

On the third evening, one took off his belt and hit Vera across her breasts. She winced in pain; he smiled. Then he entered her, but she showed no more reaction.

The women took different attitudes to Vera. Most of the young women felt thankful towards her. Some admired her both for her strength and her self sacrifice. However some others looked on her with disdain and even hostility. Tanya, a green eyed woman with a face a shade too pointed to be pretty, was the worst. She was in her late 20s with a slender frame and a waspish tongue.

‘You’re now in your element, aren’t you?’ she said to Vera as she came back to gather her clothes and get some food.

Vera ignored her, but Ludmilla looked daggers.

‘It’s a pity it’s the only way you can get a man,’ continued Tanya.

Vera was eating the food that Ludmilla had saved for her and said nothing.

‘That’s typical; you never spoke much, you only ever came into town with that father of yours. He could hardly talk either. Or were the two of you up to what you’ve been doing just now.’

“You are such a stupid woman,’ Vera replied, ‘Do you see what a position we’re in. And all you want to do is stir it.’

‘You’ve never been married. How come you were not still a virgin?’

One of the other woman put her hand on Tanya’s arm and said, ‘Stop this; you’ll only hear things you don’t want to know.’

Vera looked wearily at Tanya and said, ‘Look, I’ve just been fucked by eight men. I’m tired and want to sleep.’

‘If your father didn’t deflower you, then who did?’

‘That’s my business, but it was a long time ago. But the last man I had before they all ran away was your husband.’

Tanya looked haughtily at her and said, “I don’t believe you.’

“He liked making love to me because I did it ‘properly.’ You insisted that he sodomize you. He got fed up of having shit on his dick. Am I right?”

Tanya stared at her silently. Her mouth openned.

“Yes, I am right. How long were you married? Five years. Apparently, you started your unnatural demands within a week of marriage. He put up with it because he did not have to look at the scorn on your face, when he penetrated you. Now everybody else knows why you didn’t have any children. They don’t come out of your ass.”

Everyone was silent. Vera finished her food, turned sideways, curled up in a cloak and fell asleep.

The next day followed the same pattern. We woke, walked, stopped at midday, walked again and stopped for the night. It was a longer day and hotter than usual before we stopped. Even the soldiers were tired. That night only five of them had Vera.

She slept with her arms round Ludmilla, but was woken in the middle of the night by one of the soldiers. He bent over her and prodded her with his rifle. She woke and looked up.

‘You haven’t finished your job,’ he said.

She looked sleepily at him. Ludmilla woke up and said, ‘No, she’s had enough.’

‘Then I’ll have you,’ he responded.

‘I’ll go,’ said Vera.

She got up, pulled off her clothes and walked off with him. In the cold night air, her nipples stood out erect.

The soldier turned Vera around and pulled her wrists behind her. He tied them together. Outside the group, he walked to a tree stump, took out his long knife and sat down. Vera stood over him.

‘I’m tired tonight. You’re going to have to do all the work. And you’re going to come. I want to see it on your face. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you never come again.” He put the tip of his knife between her legs.

He pulled his pants down and motioned her to crouch on top of him.

She crouched down on her knees and with one hand he made sure he penetrated her. The other kept hold of the knife.

‘Now start thrusting.’

She thrust up and down, and he moved his knife over her breasts, pricking them slightly on each nipple.

‘Remember to come. No faking, I’ll know.’

She kept going and suddenly her face contorted and she stopped.

‘Good, and I’ll want you to do that every time from now on.’

He thrust upwards a couple of times himself and then subsided. He threw her off and pulled up his pants and walked away.

She picked herself up and began to walk to the river.

‘No, you’re going to sleep with my semen inside you tonight.’

He grabbed one of her bound arms and shoved her back to the group.

She staggered and then walked over. Ludmilla knelt upwards and untied Vera’s hands. They embraced and lay on the ground. Neither slept.

There was panic in the morning. The headcount was wrong. Two captives were missing.

Katya, a 14 year old girl and Sasha, her twelve year old brother were unaccounted for.

There were tracks down to the river. The officer got on his horse and the senior soldier unhitched the cart horse. They rode off across the river, splashing along the far shore until they picked up a trace and set off along the river bank.

An hour and a half later, they were back. Each had a captive slung across the back of the horse. The officer had Sasha and the larger carthorse carried his sister Katya. Both were bound hand and foor.

The threw them off in front of us. They collapsed on the floor. Vera, Ludmilla and some of the other women ran to help them up and untie them.

‘Only their legs. Leave their hands bound.’ The officer bellowed through his thick moustache, ‘We’ve two hours to make up. We’ll deal with these two this evening.’

We marched all day. The midday break was shorter than usual and we walked well into the night. Two of the women fed the girl and boy, whose hands remained bound.

The evening ritual began the usual way, with the fires set up and pots put out for cooking. Two of the soldiers came up to Vera and looked at her. Not a word was said, but she again pulled off her dress and slip and began to walk to the wagon.

The officer stopped them. ‘We’re giving her a night off tonight.”

The soldiers looked sullen.

‘But, don’t worry, there’ll be other sport,’ continued the officer, ‘Bring me the two miscreants.’

The soldiers grabbed Katya and Sasha.

‘Strip them and tie each over one of the wagon wheels. Wrists to the wagon side, knees to edges of the wheels.’

All the captives were grouped around the wagon.

‘I’ll now show you what happens to runaways.’

The officer beckoned to the crone, who came across. ‘Check her out and let us know her state.’ Katya had brown eyes and fair hair. Her young face belied the full woman’s body she possessed.

The old women knelt in front of Katya and pulled her labia apart with her knobbly fingers. The girl squirmed as she peared at her. ‘She’s a virgin,’ said the old woman.

‘Well, you men can now have some fun,’ he said to the soldiers. Vera moved forward and the officer looked her in the face. ‘You can’t save this one. But I may have another task for you later.’ He pushed her back and motioned to the old woman to bind her wrists.

‘But first, we’ll deal with the boy. We’re going to cut his balls off.’

‘But first, he can have a treat.’ He looked at Vera, ‘Give him a blow job!’

Vera’s expression was one of horror.

‘So you can change your face.’

He grabbed Vera by one of her arms and pushed her forward and on to her knees in front of the boy.

‘Of you go, give him the treat of his life.’

He pushed her face against the boy’s cock, ‘Come on, you’ve done this before.’

“Not with a boy!’

‘Well now you can show what you can do.”

Vera openned her mouth and began to lick his dick and his scrotum. The boy wriggled, but after a time there was no mistaking the pleasure on his face.

Eventually he said, ‘That’s enough.’ And pulled Vera back.

He looked at the old woman and said, ‘Do a neat job. He has to be able to walk tomorrow.’

She cackled, went to the cart and came back with a two small knives, a needle and some thread. She knelt in front of the boy, who strove against his bindings, but in vain. With the small sharp kniife she made two incisions one each side of the scrotum and then put her fingers in and pulled out his two small testicles. She then sliced each of the off. She put a couple of stiches in the wounds, stood up and looked him in the face, with her watery brown eyes, and said, ‘You’ve begun your new life as a eunuch a lttle earlier than the others.’

The soldiers were arguing about who was going to first with Katya. As they argued the crone walked up to her. She looked round at the still arguing soldiers and took a broom handle lying at the side of the cart. She put it between the girl’s legs and thrust. Katya screamed. The soldiers stopped arguing.

Katya looked down, watching her virgin blood dribbling down the broom handle.

The crone looked at the soldiers and yelled, ‘Too late! I’ve had her first.’

One of the soldiers grabbed the broom handle, pulled it out and hit the old woman in the face. It did not stop her cackling and laughing at them.

The soldiers ignored her and then took Katya one after the other. When it came to the two on duty during the escape, the officer stopped them.

‘Oh no, not you two. You let this happen. No more fucking for you until we reach the market. You’re on duty for the rest of the night. If there are any more escapes, the crone will be cutting off your balls!’

He turned to Vera and said, ‘Come with me,’ and walked off to his tent. She followed.

In the early hours of the morning, she returned, her hands still bound. Ludmilla untied them and had kept some food for her, which was cold but still welcome. ‘What happened? ‘ she asked, ‘Did he have you as well?’

‘No, not really,’ said Vera, ‘I had to suck him off. He wasn’t going to put his precious dick where the ordinary soldiers had had theirs. He stood there and I knelt in front of him and sucked and licked and sucked. Eventually he came. He pushed me to the foot of his camp bed and I slept on the ground. He then slept. When he woke, I had to do it again.’

‘Did he free your hands?’

‘Oh no, it was a complete mouth job. At least he put a blanket over me, before he fell asleep. How are Katya and Sasha?’

‘We untied them and they’re asleep somewhere. Katya seemed far worse than Sasha.’

‘She’ll recover. He never will.’