By Little Kitetail
Copyright 2025 by Little Kitetail all rights reserved
[3,237 words]
* * * * *
Chapter 4:
A wood-burned sign nailed
onto a wooden archway announced our arrival at Moon Village, the
designated campsite for us Petal Pickers. It consisted of a ring of
yurts around a small central building, and it was surrounded by a ring
of tall wooden stakes that formed a sort of fence. It clearly wasn't
meant to keep anyone in or out, however. Even a grown adult could slip
through the gaps between the stakes.
I was a little shocked to
see the four teenage girls- Honey Bees, as I would later learn they
were called- standing there by the entrance. But when the one called
"Rachel" noticed my distress and offered to take me to the bathroom, I
was so relieved I just about stopped caring about anything else. Here's
how that went:
Location: Moon Village Restrooms
Rachel: to the other girls
You don't all have to be here. I told you, I know what I'm doing… I
used to babysit a three-year-old boy who needed help in the bathroom...
Natalie: We're just here in case there's trouble, right? Hailey and Gwen don't know this boy. He could be dangerous.
Hailey:
Not likely. P4s are like the biggest wimps on the planet. Oh, Rachel,
don't forget to press on the underside of his scrotum to squeeze out
the last few drops.
Rachel: I usually just
have them shake a little bit… Cody? Can you help me out? Wiggle,
wiggle, shake, shake, now we've had our potty break!
Cody: grumbles but complies
Gwen: giggles
Sounds like someone thinks he's too much of a big boy for that little
rhyme. Give him a quick rinse with the shower sprayer, and then we're
done. You don't need to worry about drying him off when the weather's
this warm.
Then, the ones called Gwen and Hailey started to
show the other two around the campsite. They signaled to me that I
should follow along, so they would only have to give the tour once.
Obviously, we started with the bathrooms, because that's where we
already were. They were attached to the central building. The toilet
and shower area were both decently clean and in good condition, but
there were no stalls or dividers of any kind. Just a row of open
toilets on one wall, and a row of open shower heads with hoses on the
other wall. The exception was a single walled-off toilet at the end,
which I learned was only for staff and the Honey Bees. Gwen and Hailey
briefly explained to the others what they had to do at shower time and
where to find soap, towels, and other supplies.
We then moved
on to a bigger room, scattered with various toys and games. This was a
recreation room where we would be allowed to spend our free time, and
when the weather was bad, we'd sleep there. Some of the game pieces had
clear teeth marks from Petal Pickers trying to move them with their
mouths. There was a door that we didn't go through, which Gwen
explained led to an office used by Ms. Heather or whatever other member
of staff was on duty at the time.
A boy who looked a bit
younger than me gave the girls a crooked smile. He licked his lips and
spoke in an off-putting monotone. "Well, well, well… two fresh new
lambs come to rattle the bars of the wolf cage. How daring. Do I detect
a slight... AHAHAHA! STOP! STOP! NO TICKLING!"
Hailey smirked.
She had snuck up behind him to interrupt his monologue. "This is
Christopher," she explained, "There's only two things you need to know
about him. He thinks he's Hannibal Lector, and he has a really ticklish
tummy."
Outside the building was a small playground. All the
equipment was webbed with rope nets. Gwen explained that it was
designed to be as safe for us as possible with our hands bound, but
that didn't mean it was completely safe. She'd prefer if we didn't play
at all without one of the Honey Bees to supervise, but she said she
knew if we were the kind of boys who made good decisions, we wouldn't
be here. So she would only warn us that the metal slide gets really hot
during the daytime, and human skin isn't as slippery on metal as cloth,
so if we want to go down it, we should have one of them put down a
towel for us to slide on. Hailey added that no boy makes that mistake
twice.
We passed by a group of Petal Pickers who were involved
in a game of hacky sack. I was pretty impressed by how skillfully they
had learned to move while in cuffs. I didn't think I'd be at that level
any time soon. Athletics was never my strong point. One of them yelled
something at the girls. I didn't know what it meant, but it sounded
rude. The girls must have also thought so, because in a moment, he was
muzzled.
Next, I got to see where we'd be sleeping. I was
relieved to hear that we weren't expected to sleep with our arms behind
our backs. Instead, we'd be strapped down to the cots directly. That
wasn't much better, but it was better. Someone would be checking on us
every hour or so. There was even a little flag we could put up if we
needed something in the night.
By the end of the tour, Rachel
seemed pretty excited about her new role. She said that she felt like
we really needed them and she could do some good here. She was relieved
that our facilities were about the same as what the girls got, and we
weren't being abused or neglected. She was looking forward to getting to
know us.
Natalie was less enthusiastic. She said it felt like
they were going to be our slaves and wait on us hand and foot. Gwen
smiled at her and assured her that even though it can be a lot of work,
they're in charge, not us. To prove her point, she took the boy who had
shouted at them earlier by the arm, making him drop his hacky sack, and
led him and Natalie out of sight behind the cabin. All I could hear was
a series of smacks and muffled cries of pain from that boy. He stumbled
back into view, his eyes watering, and his bottom marked and reddened.
Natalie seemed a lot happier than she'd been just a moment ago.
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. At some point, we were
herded to the cafeteria for dinner. The other muzzled Petal Pickers and
I were made to sit apart from the others, in a corner where the adult
staff could keep an eye on us. Later, we were divided into three groups
for shower time. One group was helped by Hailey (there was an audible
groan among the boys assigned to that group), one by Gwen, and the
group I was in was helped by Rachel and Natalie as a team. I wasn't
thrilled about having them put their hands on my body, but I was too
tired to resist. One thing I didn't expect was how much it would
tickle. Rachel and Natalie giggled and tickled me harder just to tease
me.
After that, bed. It was quite a relief to finally get to
stretch out my arms, even if I still couldn't move much. Just to be
able to change positions was quite a relief. I don't know if it was the
air, the darkness, my own exhaustion, or the simple fact that I didn't
have a screen in front of my eyes until the wee hours of the morning,
but I slept beautifully that night and woke up feeling better than I
had in a long time, at least until I remembered where I was.
Ms. Heather and Honey Bees came around not long after sunrise and
started unbuckling us from the beds and putting us in our day cuffs.
Much to my relief, the muzzle was finally removed, giving my jaw a bit
of a rest. We were herded to the bathrooms, then the cafeteria. I sat
with the boys from my yurt, but I mostly let them talk while I just
answered their questions.
The "activities" of the day started
with a long hike. The Honey Bees went first, holding brooms to sweep
anything that might hurt our feet off the trail. We Petal Pickers
walked in two lines behind Ms. Heather. We must have looked like a
royal procession, I mused. In fact, I think I once saved a picture of a
barbarian warlord flanked by his bodyguards leading a coffle of bound
and stripped slavegirls, and this was just like a gender-reversed
version of that… No! Best not to think about that right now.
In many ways, that was the worst part of being here. Knowing that I was
living the kind of power fantasy that I had been craving, but on the
wrong side. Auntie Sabrina, Ms. Heather, all the girls had what I had
been obsessing over, an obsession that had taken over my life. And I
knew from experience that, if any one of them was like me, there was
nothing I could do that wouldn't make it better for them. If I cried,
they'd enjoy it. If I got impotently angry and cursed them out, they'd
enjoy it. If I pleaded, they would enjoy it. If I submitted and obeyed,
they would enjoy it.
We did a lot of different activities that
day. Some of them were basically classes. We would sit in rooms with a
teacher who would talk about things like consent, boundaries, and how
to make people feel safe. Just like at school, they'd try to reinforce
the lessons by making us sing songs (the muzzled Petal Pickers had to
hum along), play games, or do arts and crafts about what we learned. I
was surprised at how many things they could make us do without our
hands. Most of what they taught us made sense, I guess, but there was a
real "do as we say, not as we do" vibe to the whole thing. I wasn't the
only one who noticed, and some of the braver boys even spoke up about
it. We were told that, yes, our boundaries and consent matter too, but
they're temporarily suspended until we've shown we can respect those
things in others.
I didn't really know what there was to learn that I didn't know, though. I mean, it's not like I got caught on purpose.
But some of the activities were really weird. There was one where we
just sat in a room full of crystals while the instructor burned some
herbs and told us to imagine things. There was another where we got to
soak in a nice warm tub after being scrubbed down by the Honey Bees,
and the instructor encouraged us to talk about our families and stuff
we learned about being boys from them. I didn't understand these
activities, but I didn't mind them. They were relaxing if nothing else.
Days passed. There were good times and bad. I started to get more
familiar with the other Petal Pickers and even started to enjoy their
company, knowing we were all in this together. I didn't make friends
easily back home. Trying to dodge the girls getting handsy in the
hallways and paths started to become second-nature, almost a sort of
fun game. I saw Nyx a few times in between activities. I was tempted to
talk to her, but I'm not the kind of boy who has an easy time going to
up people I don't know well. Especially not girls. Especially not when
naked. So mostly we just smiled at each other, and then I'd act like I
was in a hurry and get out of her sight.
Then, one evening, I
was walking back to Moon Village alone after one of my sessions with
Auntie Sabrina. I was lost in thought, mulling over the things we had
talked about, when suddenly I was jerked back into reality by the sound
of another set of footsteps. Well, a set of footsteps. My bare feet
didn't make much sound on the trail.
My mind raced. The other
boys had told me about groups of girls "kidnapping" Petal Pickers back
to their camp, and told me to always keep an eye out when walking
alone, unless I wanted to spend the night tied to a tree, tormented by
a mob of giggling girls. But there was only one, so it probably wasn't
that. But it could be something worse.
Should I call out, or
was it better to pretend nothing was wrong? I could try to make it back
to the main courtyard, but it was already late, and there was no
guarantee anyone would be there to help. I could try to continue on to
Moon Village, but that was even further away. I could scream and hope
someone heard me, but what if it turned out to be some harmless animal?
I'd probably get punished for wasting everyone's time…
I
couldn't run very well with the cuffs. I couldn't fight at all. There
was no one around to help me. So, having exhausted all other
possibilities, I decided to act like a boy and confront my stalker
directly. "Hello? Wh-who's there?!" I demanded in my best attempt at an
authoritative voice.
I was hoping there would be no answer.
Those hopes were dashed when I heard a girl's voice. "Well, well, well
Cody, out for a little walk, are we? You should be more careful. You
never know what might happen."
I saw her shadow before I saw
her. In the evening light, she looked like a giant. Then I saw her, in
silhouette against the setting sun. She wasn't a giant, but she was
bigger than me. "Um… do I… do I know you?" I was trying to sound
fierce, but fear turned my voice into a pathetic squeak.
"No,
Cody, you don't. But I from what I hear, you might be familiar with my
little sister," the stranger answered, "Allow me to introduce myself…
I'm Melissa Green."
Interlude
Location: Auntie Sabrina's Office
Elliot:
...and I just felt invisible all the time, you know? Like, no matter
how well I did at school or sports, all anyone at home would ever talk
about was whether or not my dad would make it through the year or my
sister would get out of prison. No one had time for Elliot. But when I
was Ashley… well, her inbox was always full. People would do anything
to get Ashley's attention, even for a moment.
Auntie Sabrina: It made you feel like you mattered.
Elliot: Yeah. And I guess that's why I've been so worried about that new kid, Cody. I keep wanting to make sure he's adjusting ok.
Auntie Sabrina: And how's that been going?
Elliot:
Hard to tell. He doesn't talk much, and when he does… well, you can
tell he's one of those kids who gets his words from books, not from
other kids. I mean, I'm one to talk…
Auntie Sabrina: You see something of yourself in him, don't you, Elliot?
Elliot:
I mean… yeah. We were both used to being ignored. We were both raised
by technology. Of course, he accepted being alone in a way I never
could. I guess you must have figured we're pretty similar, too, or you
wouldn't have put him in the low-threat yurt with us?
Auntie Sabrina: The what?
Elliot:
I just figured you must have put us together for a reason. You have the
violent boys with the violent boys and the softer boys with the softer
boys.
Auntie Sabrina: raises her eyebrow If I were sorting you that way, and I'm not saying I am or I am not, what makes you think I'd consider you "low-threat", Elliot?
Elliot: Well, I just mean, you don't have to worry about me snapping and attacking someone.
Auntie Sabrina: We don't have to worry about that from any of you, thanks to the cuffs you're wearing.
Elliot:
Yeah, but even before that... I mean, I never laid a hand on anyone…
Neither has Cody, and even Max isn't anywhere close to Simon or Ajax's
level.
Auntie Sabrina: No one had to change
schools and houses because of Simon or Ajax, Elliot. Four or five
families are still living in fear of your "boyfriends" tracking them
down.
Elliot: Well, what do you expect?! You
dragged me off here without giving me any time to explain what was
going on. All they know is that their favorite girls just stopped
coming online one day. If you had given me a chance, I would have come
up with an exit strategy. I could have handled everything!
Auntie Sabrina: You are a child,
Elliot. You had no business "handling" adult predators. And you
certainly had no business selling them a fantasy of abusing your
classmates.
Both Elliot and Auntie Sabrina are quiet for a moment.
Auntie Sabrina:
You know, there's something about this I've been wanting to ask you.
How did you know there would be a market for your little side-hustle?
Did you come up with the idea all on your own?
Elliot:
No… not entirely. I spent some time lurking in the communities where
this kind of thing was going on. I saw how much money people were
willing to pay...
Auntie Sabrina: How do I put this… was it only girls they were interested in?
Elliot: No… some of them liked boys.
Auntie Sabrina:
That fits with what I've learned about sexual predators in my years
working trauma cases. It's vulnerability they're after. Your young age
makes you interesting to the kind of men who would target your
classmates. So… and I'm definitely not saying you should have, but I'd
like to know: Why didn't you just use your own pictures and identity?
Elliot: goes quiet for a moment I don't… I don't know...
Auntie Sabrina:
I don't know why either. But I see at least two possibilities. One was
that you knew what you were doing was dangerous. You didn't want to put
yourself at risk. So you used your classmates so they would be the
targets if things went bad. If that's the case, then you showed a lack
of empathy and concern for the safety of others, which makes you very
dangerous indeed.
Elliot: What's the other possibility?
Auntie Sabrina:
The other possibility is that you did it because you wanted to be seen
as a girl. You've already told me that what you did was at least as
much about the attention as the money. Perhaps the attention you got
from people who thought you were a girl was more meaningful to you than
the attention you would have gotten as a boy.
Elliot: swallows And what would that mean?
Auntie Sabrina:
I don't know. It could be any number of things. Only you could say for
sure. Perhaps it's something to think about for our next session, hm?
But I do want to be clear: whatever the reason, it doesn't excuse the
lack of concern you showed for the safety and dignity of those girls.