‘Battery, stand by!’ Came the radio. ‘Standby!’ I shouted, seeing the gunner grab the lanyard and prepare to pull. ‘Fire!’ It came from th... radio, then a second later I shouted it. The gunner twisted his hips, pulling the cord attached to the firing mechanism. The cannon roared and shook dust up as the shell left the barrel. The force caused by the charge 8 stick propellant dug the trails in deeper and pushed the 10,000 pound gun back about six inches. — I sat up in bed, groaning and. Then there was Carol, and everything changed.Carol was a web developer. She was brilliant, exceedingly smart at what she does. I knew she was a wild child based on some of the comments she made in her posts, so it didn't take long to put a face to that name. She was the only one dressed entirely in black, with the studded leather dog collar round her neck.A few days later was the gala dinner, and during the live entertainment I slipped outside. I was feeling buzzed, but I wanted to get some. "Now you'll be in there together forever and ever," Risa called from the living room. The inside door was glazed with fifteen little windows, five rows of three, leaving me and Leotard-Top open to inspection like a pair of lizards in a terrarium. Risa and Number Three huddled together, shoulder to shoulder against the glass."Whatchya waitin' for, Kid?" Leotard-Top said. The folded bills made an oblong bas-relief in the black cloth below her left nipple."What would you do if I actually took you. I wondered if she had done that, or if the brothers had upon “preparing” her.Matt continued, “Once this is done, your initiation will be complete. You will be one of us, with all the benefits that allows.” And they were some benefits too. Half the reason I’d chosen this college was to get into this fraternity. “You all did this?” I asked. Masked faces nodded silently. I looked back to the girl, and almost on cue she arched her back, trying to break free. I wished she knew how much harder a.