A Crying Shame (89 page)

The woman's eyes were dull as they fixed on Katie's face.
Think about it. What man—human man—would want a woman after she's been had by these creatures? How many of them took you, sexually, last night? Four—five? At least. Every one of them in this camp will have you before you're finally selected as one's mate.”

Katie put her face in her hands and silently wept. She said something the woman could not understand.

Beg pardon?”

I said”—Katie wiped her runny nose on her bare arm—
ultimate cock. I been lookin' for bigger and better ever since I learned what a pussy is for.”

The woman's eyes were sad.
Well . . . you damned sure found it, babe. At first I thought it would kill me; I wasn't built to take all that. But the human body is pretty tough, I guess—especially the female's. We can adapt to just about anything. And”—she sighed—
all things taken into consideration, it's not that bad after the first two or three weeks are past and you're chosen by one of them. You gotta learn to eat berries and raw fish . . . and you will. Just don't fight them and they pretty much leave you alone. 'Cept when they want to fuck.”

Jesus! Where'd . . . where are you from? Not from around here. I can tell by the way you talk.”

L.A. I was traveling with my boyfriend. On a motorcycle.” She smiled ruefully.
Like I said a minute ago, the beasts are not stupid. They're really pretty damned smart. They learned a long time ago, I guess, that motorcycles are a lot easier to hide than cars. That's where they get most of their women.”

How many of us are here?”

Just you and me, now, at this camp.” She shrugged.
It's hard to tell about the other camps. I've only seen . . . maybe a third of the camps. But some of the women have been here for over twenty-five/thirty years. Yeah.” She picked up on Katie's startled look.
Most women, so some of the others have told me, don't last very long. Go nuts. The ones that live the longest are with the good beasts. They get treated good . . . real good. Gentle-like. The good beasts hunt for food, bring it to them, teach them how to weave and braid wines and stuff for clothes.