The Saltadora Ch. 08

"Um... sorry, Cass. Just thinking... um... we have major problems," Casey began. "There's a warrant out for our arrests and the police have conducted a raid at the Crescent. Greg is in custody but everyone else is okay. It seems they're only going after management. Jolene is okay since she's still an indent, as are most of the girls."

"Why, what the fuck did we do wrong?" Cassandra demanded in shock.

"Well, um... from what Jolene was saying, there's a law that prevents using indents for prostitution. No one has ever enforced it until now, but it seems the new government is using it to try to shut us down."

"Shit! Fuck! What are we gonna do?" Cassandra fretted.

Emily and Madison kept looking at each other in mounting alarm, wondering what all this would mean for their fates.

"Shoosh for a second. Let me think." Casey closed her eyes for a few moments, allowing her scowl to lift and her face to take on a peaceful expression before she finally spoke again. "Okay, we have to get off the street, and right now. Everyone back to the car."

After bundling everyone back inside Casey's Mustang, she drove to a nearby rest area in a heavily wooded and rundown park. There were no other cars present and they were able to park out of view of the street. Obviously, Casey knew of this location and expected they would be left alone and out of sight. She then took out her phone again and called Monique, explaining what she knew of the situation. Monique said she would make some enquiries and then call back.

After waiting in silence for some ten minutes, finally Casey's phone rang again, and she answered before the first ring had completed.

"Monique?"

Everyone remained silent. Monique's indistinct voice could be heard on the phone.

"Okay, thanks. I'll discuss it with Cassandra, and we'll figure out what to do."

After hanging up, Casey turned solemnly to Cassandra. "Okay, the news isn't good. We're likely looking at lengthy prison sentences or terms of indenture. Our best chance is to turn ourselves in under Monique's care and hopefully get bail."

"What the fuck? What about the judge? Can he help us now?"

"Apparently, he's under arrest as well. It seems CAMDOS are rounding up everyone who had anything to do with the Crescent. We're on our own."

"Oh crap! I don't wanna be an indent again. It was fine when I was your indent, but if we end up on the auction block, anything could happen!" Cassandra feared.

"I hear you, but I don't think we have a choice," Casey replied. "We're fucked, unless Monique can find a loophole, which so far it doesn't seem like there is one."

"No! No, fuck that! Ain't gonna happen!" Cassandra resolved, folding her arms and frowning. "Lemme call Pa. If the law ain't on our side, then we gotta look at other options."

After speaking with her father for some minutes, she gestured to Casey and clicked her fingers to ask for a pen and paper. She then jotted something down before thanking her father and hanging up.

"Okay, Pa is in Stocksgate right now, but he's given us the address of a safe house we can use," Cassandra informed Casey. "Alberto's gonna meet us there, but Pa says not to move until after dark and stick to the backroads in case there's an APB on this car."

"You want to go on the run?" Casey asked incredulously. "They'll find us eventually, and then we'll definitely get indenture or prison. At least if we hand ourselves in, they might go a bit easier on us."

"Fuck yeah, I wanna go on the run," Cassandra confirmed. "You think this is the first time Pa has had to hide someone, including his self? He knows how to twist the law. If Monique can't help us, his lawyers sure will."

"But what about the Crescent?" Casey prompted. "What about Greg?"

"Well, assuming the Crescent is still allowed to operate on some level, Jolene and Amelia can take over that," Cassandra responded thoughtfully. "Greg, I dunno, but we'll get Monique and Pa's lawyers to do what they can."

"Okay, sure, but I still think we're living on borrowed time if we go on the run," Casey considered. "They're gonna catch up with us eventually."

Emily and Madison looked at each other in the backseat, clearly worried about this turn of events, and wondering what it meant for them as well as their friends.

"Do you think it's time we told them the truth of who we are?" Emily asked Madison. "We might be able to help them, as well as get out of here ourselves since this all seems to be going down the toilet now."

Madison paused for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Yes, I think it's time."

Overhearing the conversation and wondering what they were talking about, Casey and Cassandra swivelled around to face the two women in the backseat whom they had almost forgotten about in the circumstances.

"What are you guys talking about?" Casey asked. "What can you do to help us?"

"Um...," Emily began, wondering just where to begin. "We might have a way for you to hide indefinitely without getting caught."

"Yeah? What's that?" Cassandra prompted.

"Well, I wouldn't suggest this if there was any hope of getting the Crescent back and putting things back the way they were, but it seems like you're out of options," Emily replied.

"No, it seems like we're pretty much fucked," Casey confirmed. "What's your idea?"

"Well... um... shit... um... you're going to think I'm crazy. Um... well, when Madison and I said we were from out of town, it's more complicated than that. We actually come from a lot, lot further away. Like another world away."

Casey and Cassandra both stared blankly in response before Cassandra's eyebrows suddenly went up. "You mean, you guys are aliens??" she suggested. "Holy fuck!"

"Well, not aliens," Emily smiled. "Well, not exactly. We're human beings the same as you. Have you heard of parallel worlds? We have a way to travel between them. That's how we ended up here."

"Parallel worlds..." Cassandra marvelled while Casey squinted in disbelief before something struck her.

"Those dildos you were arrested with," Casey began, suddenly putting two and two together. "Are you saying those are what you used to travel here? I wouldn't have believed you at face value but those are like nothing else I've seen before with their weird switches and lights. I couldn't figure out what any of them did."

"Yes, we call them hypons," Emily explained. "Well, the guy who invented them called them that. It's short for Hyperdrive Tampon. He has a weird sense of humour. Long story short, he figured out that he could jump parallel worlds using a type of hyperdrive, but it had to be contained inside the body to work, and those are what he came up with."

"I'll be fucked," Cassandra blurted without really knowing what else to say. "Well, welcome to our world."

"Thanks," Emily replied. "The thing is, we can use them to get you out of here to a place you'll never be found. That's the reason we came here, that is, to try to find a better place. It didn't really work out how I hoped, but Madison and I both adapted and now we like it."

"Yeah, she was hoping to wear clothes and work as a barista," Madison laughed.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Casey responded.

"Why? It wasn't your fault we got arrested and had to become nudists," Emily pointed out. "Like you said, you saved us from what could have been a far worse fate."

"But I didn't really give you what you were looking for by turning you into a red collar girl." Casey lamented.

"It ain't that much different than where we came from," Madison assured her. "There, no woman is allowed to wear clothes, and we all have to obey a series of commands. Some of them you guys even use here, like 'Present' and 'Sit'."

"That was Jolene's idea," Casey replied.

"Yes, I can't believe some of the similarities. The collars are almost identical as well," Emily continued. "Back on our world, women don't even have names. They give them up when they turn nineteen and begin a life of nudity. After that, we all use the serial numbers on our collars as our names."

"The fuck?" Cassandra reacted. "All women are slaves?"

"No, not at all," Emily replied. "Other than obeying the commands and not wearing clothes, well, apart from the collar, women are completely autonomous and free. They don't even have to work. All of their expenses are covered by the government. Men are much nicer as well. They don't have any sex crime as such. Well, any crime at all really. There are no wars, no climate or pollution problems, and everyone gets a say in their own destiny."

"What's the catch?" Cassandra asked, clearly intrigued.

"You gotta have babies," Madison answered.

"Well, up until you turn thirty-five," Emily clarified. "The need to repopulate appears to be how all of their traditions started."

"What if you can't?" Cassandra wondered. "Case and me got our tubes tied ages ago. Neither of us want kids, nor does Greg."

"They can probably repair that, possibly whether you want it repaired or not," Emily replied. "Their medical technology is really advanced. However, you don't raise the kid yourself. Women over thirty-five are tasked with that. The children are all raised communally in boarding schools."

"Are you kidding me?" Casey butted in. "They take your babies off you? Why do women put up with that? If you tried that here, most women would fight it to the death!"

"It's a different culture," Emily explained. "Everyone grows up with that expectation, so it's normal for them. I tried suggesting that a woman might want to raise her own babies, and I was met with extreme disbelief. They just couldn't imagine the concept. To them, that's a horrible idea. Same with the nudity. The girls all look forward to the day they undress for the final time and begin serving society. It's a day of great excitement for them. They have a special ceremony called Debutante which is televised live, where the girls all strip on a stage in front of a massive studio audience, receive their collars, and then have their first 'coupling' with five men at once on camera."

"Fuck me! Is that like PornTube or something?" Cassandra asked.

"Nope, normal TV," Madison responded. "To them, it's all perfectly normal behaviour, nothing to be ashamed about. Something to celebrate even."

"I like the sound of that," Casey smiled before turning to Emily. "The way you talk about it sounds like you weren't from that world, Emily?"

"No, I ended up there accidentally when an experimental test flight of our first hyperdrive took us there. Then we were stranded for two years while we figured out how to get back. My world was a lot like this one, except we didn't have any public nudity at all. Talk about culture shock."

"I got a similar story," Madison added. "I think I actually came from this world. That was like fifteen years ago, though. It was a lot different then. We had registered nudity laws, but I never saw it. I think mainly coz I was in the military, and they wouldn't have allowed it there. Just like Emmie, I was a test pilot of a hyperdrive equipped ship, and I crash landed there. Culture shock for me as well, to say the least."

"The thing is, I got the opportunity to go back," Emily continued after waiting for Madison to finish. "Well, it wasn't really my choice. I was offered a promotion to go back as our Earth's Envoy. I would have declined, but I was made to believe I didn't have a choice about it by the same man who invented the hypon, Rod Collingwood. He's completely brilliant, but he has the emotional maturity of a schoolboy. He just doesn't know when to stop, so I had to get away from him."

There was a moment of silence as a car pulled into the car park nearby.

"Anyway," Casey continued as the car drove off again, "I'm sure we can adapt to that world. Cass and I are used to nudity. We just have to learn those commands."

"Oh, we can't go back there," Emily clarified. "I left for a reason, partially to get away from Collingwood, but mostly because I couldn't take birth control anymore, so it was only a matter of time until I got pregnant, and I didn't want that. Plus, Madison and I were in the military as well, and we went AWOL. We'd be court-martialled if we went back. We'll need to jump to the next world."

"What's there?" Cassandra asked.

"We don't know yet," Emily answered truthfully. "Chances are it's another human civilisation just like this one, but it could be anything. We know some worlds don't have a human population at all. If we strike out with a bad one, we just have to wait around for a week for the hypons to charge up again, then try again until we find one we like."

"Okay, sounds good," Casey cautiously began, "but it occurs to me that we have four girls and only two hypons, so only two of us can go."

"Yes, we'll need to jump back to the previous world to get a couple more," Emily answered. "Incidentally, we call my home world 'Earth 1', the previous world where Madison and I met is 'Earth 2', and this world we call 'Earth 3'. It just makes it easier to talk about."

"What's the next one then? Earth 4?" Cassandra asked.

"That'll do," Emily agreed. "Okay, the other problem is that the only way to carry two more hypons back is in our butts, and you've seen the size of them. Anything outside our bodies won't travel. That includes clothing and jewellery. That's why we arrived naked here."

"I'm sure I'll manage," Casey nodded matter-of-factly. "So, who's going back, and what are the chances you'll be apprehended for being AWOL? Should Cassandra and I do it?"

"I'm keen," Cassandra chimed in. "This place sounds like a riot!"

"You won't know where to go," Emily pointed out. "It's on a military base and you need to know how to get around. We should be fine as long as we don't bump into our boss General McAlister, but there's little chance of that happening if we go at night. Then there's just random security patrols, but they won't give a damn about a couple of women. It's not like we could be carrying concealed weapons or anything. Worst case scenario, they might ask for a blowjob."

"Okay, so you and I will go. It won't worry me to give some guy a blowie if I have to," Casey decided. "Madison and Cass can hold down the fort while we're gone."

"It should only take us an hour or so," Emily added. "We can ditch the used hypons and get four fresh ones. He has at least a dozen there. That way we won't have to wait for them to charge up again."

"Sounds like a plan," Casey agreed. "Okay, I think it's dark enough for us to make a move. Let's go find this safe house that Cass has teed up."

The engine rumbled to life, and as advised, Casey proceeded carefully through multiple back streets before arriving at the address that Cassandra had written down. On approach, the headlights revealed a massive older man standing in the driveway. He was easily two metres tall and morbidly obese, but fat was obviously not all that he was made of. Cassandra instantly recognised him.

"Ciao, come stai, Alberto?" she greeted, opening her door, and rushing to give the huge man an embrace.

"Ciao, Miss Cassandra, eh, così così," Alberto replied whilst holding his palm flat and wiggling it to imply so-so.

"Only così così? What's up?" Cassandra asked with some concern.

"Eh, it's just long day. Molto bene now that I see you," Alberto brightened. "It has been too long."

"Grazie, you are too kind, vecchio amico," Cassandra blushed.

"Come, put car in garage and bring friends inside," he instructed. "Dat car must stay hidden now. I have other wheels for you if needed but is best if you and Miss Casey lay low and send friends if you need some things." Alberto gestured to an unassuming Toyota parked in the street while handing the keys to Cassandra. Another black car was parked behind with the driver hidden. That was obviously Alberto's ride.

"Who's back there?" Cassandra asked, pointing to the black car.

"Is Jimmy," Alberto answered with a shrug.

"Tina's father?" Casey butted in. "How is she going these days?"

"Eh, she sings, she signs autographs. Is good." Alberto replied.

"Do you mean Miss Tina? That singing nudist girl all over the radio?" Madison asked.

"That's the one. Tina Soung, one of my old besties," Cassandra responded. "We started a label together after my Pa and her recording partner fucked her over."

"Is time to go inside," Alberto sighed. "You girls are like chickens clucking, but with no feathers. Go inside the house and do your clucking there before somebody sees you and you go to jail."

Taking Alberto's advice, Casey quickly parked the car in the garage and closed the roller door before proceeding inside to the others. Alberto was explaining the layout and handing Cassandra a wad of cash.

"I got youse some groceries in kitchen. Coffee, tea, bread, milk, booze. Here is money. Do not use credit cards. Here is burner phone. Switch off other phones. Use your friends to talk to delivery drivers and run errands. Do not show faces outside house. Joe is back in one week. Talk to him then about next stage to get you out of country."

"Okay, thanks, Alberto. Molte grazie," Cassandra acknowledged while accepting the money and phone.

"Prego," returned Alberto. "Keep safe, eh?"

"Thank you, Alberto," Casey repeated, to which Alberto shrugged to imply it was nothing, before turning to part.

After they were finally alone, Casey turned to the other three women. "Okay, let's get some pizza and then go and get the hypons."

"What about Greg and the other girls?" Cassandra objected.

"I'll talk to Monique about Greg, and also to Amelia and Jolene about keeping the Crescent going. There's not much else we can do beyond that," Casey sadly admitted.

"I just thought of something. What about your eye patch, Casey?" Emily asked. "No clothing will make the jump, that includes your eye patch, so you won't have it anymore when we pop out the other side."

"Hmm... good question," Casey mused for some moments before something occurred to her. "You said that anything inside the body will be fine, right? What if I wear a prosthetic and keep my eyes shut?"

"That should work," Emily agreed. "I mean, I can't promise anything, but it sounds feasible to me."

"Only one way to find out," Casey grinned. "Worst case scenario, it just works out the same anyway. Okay, let's get some pizza. Then you can take the donor car to the Crescent and fetch the hypons. You'll also find a prosthetic eye in the safe. Bring that back too. I don't like wearing it, but I'll make an exception in the circumstances. Just make sure you're not seen by any cops, and you're not followed back here when you leave."

"Gotcha," Emily nodded.

*****

The mission back to the Crescent went without a hitch. Thankfully, the police appeared to have moved on and there was no sign of them present. There was also no sign of the girls or any guests with the usual hustle and bustle of the Crescent nightlife. It was strange, and sad, to see it empty. Hopefully it was all temporary and things would be back to normal soon, albeit without Casey, Cassandra, and Greg, for the time being.

"This way, Em," Jolene greeted from the darkness while flipping on a flashlight, which caused Emily to jump. Jolene giggled in response, albeit somewhat nervously in the circumstances. "I guess I might need a bell on me as well."

"Oh my God, Jolene, I didn't expect anyone would be here!"

"Yeah, I'm sticking around to keep watch. Casey called me to get me to keep an eye out for you. You know where you're going and what you need?"

Emily noted that Jolene was wearing a utility belt that appeared to hold a taser as well as a holster for the flashlight. It made her look somewhat formidable, but also slightly ridiculous since she was otherwise completely naked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I didn't expect it would be so dark," Emily answered. "Casey just needs some stuff from her safe. I have the combination."