Guys, last chapters of the story. I guess some of you won't like the ending, but understand that you can't please everyone. Thank you very much for having followed it this far and I'll look forward your comments in my email!
Don't forget to make a donation to nifty, if you can, please
Albert had neither lied nor exaggerated. Two days later the news began to spread and agitation began to be felt in the streets. It became known that the government was about to fall and that the first thing the rebels had promised was to free the slaves. David and I were excited and those days we saw for the first time in our comrades, in addition to hatred and contempt, a new emotion: fear. Fear of us, of what we might do when we became their equals again. It was a really nice feeling.
Joe, also aware of the imminent events, turned a deaf ear and made it very clear to me that for the moment I was still his slave and that we would have to wait in any case to see what would happen. Maybe it was just a riot that would be quickly quelled. I could only continue to serve him faithfully and wait. As long as Joe continued to handle my collar, his dominance over me remained absolute.
Finally, a couple of days later, the government handed over power to the Resistance. Fortunately, the army having sided with the rebel movement, the transition was peaceful and there were hardly any incidents or injuries. The head of the Resistance assumed interim power and immediately called for elections, giving a suitable time frame for the whole democratic machinery to get back on track. Nevertheless, he kept his promise. His first measure as president was to issue a decree ordering the immediate release of all slaves and the restitution of their property, while announcing substantial compensation. Slave owners were left with two options: they could take their slaves immediately to the police stations to be freed or they could wait for the police to come to their homes to pick them up. Paradoxically, the collars, which had been our nightmare for so long, became at that moment our greatest allies. Thanks to them all the slaves were perfectly registered and located, which drastically reduced the danger that any master might be tempted to hide and lock up his slaves, or even harm them.
Joe, in his line, told me that if they thought he was going to take me to the police, they were very wrong, he had no intention of doing so. He seemed to be unwilling to accept the inevitable. I resigned myself to continue being his slave for an indefinite period of time, as I assumed that the process of going home to fetch the slaves would take time to organize and carry out. But I was completely wrong. As my friend Albert was one of the leaders of the Resistance, he personally saw to it that one of the first freed slaves was me. And so, that very afternoon, two policemen knocked at our door.
-Good afternoon -greeted the one who seemed to be of higher rank when Joe opened the door-. We have news that Mr. Brandon Miller resides here, is that right?
Joe nodded, stunned, as I appeared through a door, timidly. My previous experiences with authority had not exactly been pleasant. As soon as he saw me, the policeman motioned for me to come closer and said in an official tone while showing me a piece of paper:
-Mr. Miller, by virtue of this order all your rights as a citizen are hereby restored to you. Likewise, all those possessions that were taken from you will return to your property -and, turning to the policeman who accompanied him, he ordered him: -Proceed, officer.
The other policeman took out a strange object, which looked something like an electronic pincer -I later learned that the Resistance had developed it especially for this purpose- and carefully put it around my necklace. Then he pressed a button and in a second the necklace broke in two, being picked up by the policeman himself as it fell from my neck. The feeling of relief I experienced when I lost sight of that diabolical artifact cannot be expressed in words. The senior officer continued:
-We will take you now wherever you wish, Mr. Miller -it seemed incredible to me to be treated like this-. If you have no place to stay, we will take you to one of the hotels provisionally arranged for that purpose. Do you have anything to wear?
Of course! I was so used to it that I didn't even remember that I was completely naked, even without my loincloth, since Joe had forbidden me to wear it at home. I turned to him questioningly.
-Yes, yes... -Joe stammered. He was totally overcome by the situation-. Your things are in my closet. Let's go...
We headed for Joe's room, followed by the policeman who had taken my collar, who had been ordered by his superior to accompany us. We arrived and sure enough, most of my clothes were in the huge closet in the room. Even my computer and cell phone were there. I was surprised that Joe had kept all that. Maybe, in his heart of hearts, he sensed that someday, for some reason, he was going to have to set me free. I put on the first decent thing I could find and then started to put what I could into a travel bag that was there, which had also previously belonged to me. As I was doing this, Joe said, in a pleading tone, to the policeman:
-May I speak to the sla... with Mr. Miller for a moment in private, please?
The policeman hesitated, it was clear that he had received orders to keep an eye on Joe at all times, but he agreed:
-I'll be out here, in the corridor -he said. And he added by way of warning: -Bear in mind that Mr. Miller is now a full citizen again and any aggression will be punishable.
-Yes, yes... be calm -said Joe, hurrying to close the door. As soon as he did, he turned to me and said agitatedly:
-Brandon, now you are free, but you don't have to leave. I know your place is here, being my slave. I know you have enjoyed these months and that you will only be happy submitting to me. Think about it, now you can decide freely. If you stay you will be my slave, but we can negotiate limits and conditions that I will scrupulously respect. What do you say, Brandon? Stay! This is your place!
Not being able to believe my ears and thinking once again that Joe was not in his right mind, I stood for a few seconds looking at him, until everything inside me came to the surface and I began to speak:
-Joe, I thought you were a friend and you didn't have the slightest problem in betraying me and putting me in the hands of a society infinitely hostile towards people like me. You even used some photos, also taken treacherously, from one of our sessions, in which I was giving myself in absolute trust to you. You ruined my life without a second's hesitation, you locked me up, you deprived me of the use of speech, you beat me, you tortured me, you humiliated me in a thousand ways... Do you really think I was enjoying it? Let me tell you something: many times the only thing that kept me going was to imagine you suffering, contracting a terrible disease, gloating visualizing your pain...
You should have seen Joe's face listening to this. It began to contract in a grimace of pain, as he turned completely pale. And I wasn't finished yet:
-Let it be crystal clear to you that not even in death would I willingly be your slave. In fact, this change of circumstances has prevented me from taking my own life, something I was planning to do -here his expression of horror was unspeakable. I concluded: -You are a thoroughly despicable person and I am going to see to it that everyone knows what you did to me. And, besides that, I assure you that I will do everything in my power to ruin your life as you did not hesitate to ruin mine....
Having said this, and while Joe recoiled in fright, as if he had received a slap, I finished putting the things in the bag and headed for the door. Before I could get out, Joe grabbed me by the shoulder and tried to stop me:
-Brandon, listen... please...
At that point I didn't hold back. I turned around and suddenly kneed him in the balls with all my might. Of course, he was much stronger than me, but the blow caught him so unexpectedly that he doubled over in pain, falling to his knees on the floor. That's how I left him as I left the room and met up with the policemen.
I asked them to drive me to the hotel, as the apartment I was renting would no longer be available. However, as soon as I had settled in, I went back out. I still had some unfinished business. Even though people were staring at me on the street (my completely bald head still denoted my recent state), the feeling I had as I walked again, master of my destiny once more, was indescribable. I felt such a happiness that I seemed to float as I walked.
Soon I reached my destination and knocked on the door. My father came out to open the door. He was stunned when he saw me, and stammered:
-Brandon... hello... I guess you're free again... I'm so happy for you, son....
-Are you happy, Dad? -I shouted aggressively as I faced him, who stepped back in confusion as I pushed him inside-. Are you happy? As happy as when you sided with the person who had ruined my life? As when you praised his work in making me "someone useful"? As when you insulted me, humiliated me, tortured me and spanked me? AS HAPPY AS THEN, DADDY? -I shouted at him.
He was stuck to the wall, completely stunned with shame and embarrassment. I continued:
-I know I have not been a good son, but your behavior was completely unacceptable. I never want to see you again, Dad, EVER! And I expect you to pay for it, in this world or another.
I stood up and walked towards the door. Before I left, however, I said to my brother, who had peeked through the door, completely terrified by what he was hearing:
-The next time I come here it will be to claim my share of the inheritance...
And I went out. I took a deep breath and felt as if a terrible weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Then, satisfied, I went to find David. A new life together awaited us...
In the following days, I witnessed a phenomenon that, not because it has been frequent throughout history, ceases to be quite surprising. Suddenly, public opinion took a radical turn and what until a few days ago had been considered normal and widely accepted by a large part of the population, became an incredible aberration, which nobody knew how it could have happened. In a display of impressive cynicism, various institutions, among them the ecclesiastical hierarchy, declared that they had always been against the practice and had fought to abolish it, when the reality was that they had never lifted a finger against it. Overnight, the slaveholders, who had been considered winners and envied by many, became true social pariahs. It will never cease to amaze me how fickle and manipulable mass opinion is.
Fortunately, that worked in our favor. Society felt so guilty that the interim government decreed generous financial compensation to those who had been enslaved. They even offered free hair transplant operations, to get hair back on the head, although not everyone took it, because, incredible as it may seem, a completely bald head had become a sign of social status (!). David and I did, as we didn't want to attract attention, and, thanks to the compensation, we were able to plan a new life. Mine was not much, since it depended on how long you had been a slave, and I had only been a slave for a little over three months. David, however, had been a slave for almost two years, and his compensation was very generous. With it we were able to rent a large house in the suburbs and open an advertising agency, which was David's specialty before he was denounced by his father.
And in this context, what became of Joe? I did not carry out my threat to tell publicly what he had done to me, nor did I let David do so. I have never been capable of deliberately hurting another person, no matter how much he deserved it. However, I didn't have to. Joe had bragged about having a slave without the slightest discretion and even, I still don't know how, it became known that he was a friend of mine before denouncing me, which made him the worst of the worst in the eyes of the new society, a real social outcast with whom no one wanted to be associated. Thus, I learned that all his neighbors and friends had turned him aside, including the two I had known, Adam and Bruce, who even, in an incredible display of cynicism, had told everyone the things that Joe did to me. Besides, he had been fired from his job and had fallen into a deep depression.
That should have made me very happy, but it was not the case. It's just my nature. I couldn't help but empathize and imagine what he must be going through, and, despite my natural resentment, I felt genuinely sorry for him. When I heard that he was about to be kicked out of his house, I couldn't help but call him:
-Joe? I am Brandon Miller
-Brandon... I... hello... how are you... listen... -he started to stammer.
-Listen Joe, I'd like to meet you. Relax, just to chat. I could be at your place in 20 minutes. Can you?
-Yeah... yeah... sure... I'm not going anywhere either.
20 minutes later I was knocking on the door of that house where I had spent the worst days of my life. I shuddered when I got there.
Joe opened the door, I was startled by his appearance, he was thinner and very emaciated. As soon as I was inside, he started talking to me in a rush:
-Listen Brandon...I...I... want you to know that I never meant you any harm. I really thought I was leading you to a full and happy life, I swear... please, you have to believe me... I guess I was wrong and I was being selfish... -his voice began to crack-, I know you can never forgive me, but I apologize a thousand times... from the bottom of my heart...
When he got here, he broke down and began to cry inconsolably. The sight of that alpha male in tears was so pathetic that I was deeply moved. I took him by the hands and made him sit on a sofa, sitting down next to him.
-Calm down Joe, calm down, I have not come to reproach anything -I told him softly when he calmed down a little-. I've come to make you a proposition. You see, David and I have just started a business and we need someone to take care of the house, but not only that, but to help us in whatever we need in many areas. Someone skilled in every way. I don't know what to call it, a butler, a personal assistant... And I have thought of you for the position.
-You want to take revenge, don't you? -He said to me, with a bitter smile through his tears.
-No, Joe -I answered very seriously-. You wouldn't be anything remotely like a slave. You would be a worker, with a good salary and the best conditions. You would live with us, far from here, you would be protected from people's slander... -I paused and looked him straight in the eyes-. Well, what do you say?
-I say... I say... that of course I accept... and that... and that... you are the best person in this world Brandon! -he answered, bursting into tears again.
And following a sudden and unexpected impulse I hugged him....
EPILOGUE
Two years have passed since then. David and I got married (yes, that society that enslaved us until very recently has now granted us all the rights) and, fortunately, our advertising agency is going great. We are as much in love as the first day and life is great for us.
I started talking to my family again. One day my father came home and, also in tears, told me that I was absolutely right, that his behavior had been totally unbecoming of a father and of a person and begged me to forgive him. What could I do? Our relationship today is not close - it never was - but at least we talk and see each other from time to time.
What we hadn't done with Joe we did with my former boss, Roger. We told everyone how he had behaved with us and what his respect and help had meant to us at that terrible time. He became a kind of hero and the government even awarded him a medal, as it did with others who had behaved similarly. Today he is a great friend of ours and we see each other frequently.
And Joe? Well, he is still here, living and working with us, fulfilling all his duties with great efficiency. He could have looked for a job in his sector by now, the situation has changed a lot, but he has told us repeatedly that he is very happy with us and that he does not intend to leave us. I cannot forget what he did to me, in fact, I still have nightmares in which I am once again under his absolute domination, but I have learned to appreciate him and to forgive. Besides, I confess that sometimes, when I see that splendid hunk, so virile and powerful, in a suit or in tight pants, I can't help but feel in my soul the pang of desire, and I fantasize about worshipping him again. I've even thought of suggesting to David that someday we include him in our sex games, but that... well, maybe I'll tell you about that in another story....
THE END