Finding Virginia: 5 Miles From Hell

“Bad Land Survival Camp.” I read aloud.

The letters were painted yellow and carved into a termite infested wooden sign, painted chocolate brown. With the privacy glass up between myself and the driver, I was essentially talking to myself, but I don‘t think anyone cared. The limousine had stopped after what seemed an endless journey to nowhere and beyond. I was tired and stiff and irritated, but it wasn’t the traveling. My thoughts were focused on the drivers license in my hand and the foreign name printed upon it. My arrival was a welcome distraction.

The camp was surrounded by chain link fence, complete with razor wire on top and security lights every eight feet. The guard at the gate wouldn’t let my limousine in, so I had to get out and walk the last few feet. Virginia had the gall to be annoyed at the inconvenience, but I was feeling grateful for the opportunity to stretch my legs. If the place had looked a little less like a prison, I might even have been happy.

I stepped out of the car into the blistering hot sun. The glare made me squint even through my sunglasses as I glanced around taking in my surroundings. The dirt and rocks were all sporting a permanent red sunburn and I guessed by the end of the day I’d be joining them. I sighed and headed for the gate.

Inside the perimeter there were a number of people standing around looking bored and annoyed. They were all dressed in tanks and shorts, most of them men but my eye picked out a few women amongst their ranks. I could hear them murmuring and got the instant impression their murmurs were all about me, but that was probably just because most of them were staring at me. Normally I would have looked away, but apparently Virginia is a little bolder than I am, complete with an over-brimming sense of self-confidence. I stared back until most of them looked away.

“You must be Virginia West.” An authoritative male voice said.

I turned toward it to see a man in his mid-forties walking toward me with a half smile on his face. His shoulders were straight and unlike the group of people standing around, he looked completely natural in the tank and shorts. I decided he must be the one in the charge.

“I must be.” I replied.

“Rick Mallory. Pleased to meet you.” He said.

He extended a welcoming hand toward me which I grasped firmly for a moment. I glanced back around and noticed the crowd was doing their best to look like they were ignoring us. I turned my attention back to Rick.

“Pleasure, Rick. I’m going to guess you’re the one in charge.” I said.

“Good guess. Welcome to Hell. I’ll be your personal devil for the next week.” He said.

I liked him and couldn’t resist the urge to play along.

“I always knew I’d end up here someday.” I said.

Rick smiled more in his eyes than on his lips, but it was pleasant enough to make me relax. I had been somewhat dreading the week but maybe it won’t be so bad.

“Well you were supposed to be here over three hours ago. Everybody has been waiting on you.” Rick said.

I blinked in surprise at the sudden change in tone. Cathy and Mr. Candle had failed to mention I was going to be late or that in fact there was timeline for the day whatsoever. I had thought, mistakenly it seems, that the classes did not begin until tomorrow.

“Oh?” I said.

“I’ve got your signed contract. If you read it you should have known what time to be here.” Rick said.

He showed me the pages on a clipboard and it had a scribbled signature on it. Obviously, Cathy or someone had signed the form on my behalf because as of yet, I haven’t signed Virginia West on anything. I had a brief moment of insanity in which I seriously considered telling Rick the whole story. Thankfully, I managed to keep my foot out of my mouth for a change.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t get an earlier flight. I didn’t think you would wait on me.” I said.

The lie tasted bitter in my mouth but there was nothing more I could say. I decided it was best for me to make as few waves as possible for the moment and deal with the consequences. Of course, when I get back to LA someone is going to answer for it.

“Normally I wouldn’t but your boss was rather insistent. Personally I’m rather annoyed at having to wait and I know all of them are as well.” Rick said.

Them was a clear reference to the people standing around with nothing better to do than pretend to not be watching me. Internally I was at war with myself. I knew none of their annoyance was my fault. I didn’t do anything other than follow instructions. On the other hand, if I had enrolled in this class and arrived on time only to spend half of my first day waiting on some VIP that didn’t even have the common courtesy to call with an ETA, I’d be pissed and want some satisfaction myself. Strangely, I asked myself, “What would Virginia do?”

“I apologize for the misunderstanding. I was perfectly willing to do anything necessary to make up for my tardiness without disrupting your routine here. Obviously that could have been communicated better. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you, all you need to do is ask.” I said.

The steadiness in my voice and the command I was emanating over the situation was foreign to me and yet it felt right. Rick was clearly taken off guard, no doubt expecting to have a battle with me. I knew a fight would only propel us further down a path of antagonism which would not be beneficial to either of us. It was in everyone’s best interests to settle the matter and move forward without regrets.

“Miss West, I don’t know who you are.” Rick said.

“That makes two of us.” I thought, but fortunately refrained from saying aloud.

“But while you are here let me make one thing perfectly clear to you; This is my camp, I own it, I run it, and I don’t take orders from you or anyone else. I will tell you what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and you will do it or you will leave. It is that simple. Now, do we understand each other?” Rick said.

The last remnants of happiness faded from my thoughts. I stared angrily at the man in front of me with a hundred words on the tip of my tongue, most of them consisting of a mere four letters, but I choked them back and nodded my head in acceptance of Rick’s authority.

“Say it.” Rick ordered.

I inhaled sharply.

“Yes, I understand.” I said.

“Good. Anytime you want to leave, all you have to do is ask.” He said.

It was meant to be a mockery of my previous statement, but there was a challenge hidden in there as well. Virginia accepted it and swore she’d break him long before he got to her. I glanced around and decided Hell is what you make of it.

“So are you getting started now or do I have time to get my gear settled in?” I asked.

“Oh I’m getting started,” Rick said. “And so are you. While everyone else grabs lunch you can catch up with the five mile run they started with this morning.”

“You got a track?” I asked.

“Does it look like we have a track?” Rick asked.

I assumed it was rhetorical.

“You’ll run the inside perimeter of our fence. Each circuit is a quarter mile give or take a few feet.” Rick said. “But first you can drop your shorts and grab your ankles.”

I gaped at him, but fortunately Virginia was in control of my face and kept my expression from giving away my inner outrage. I gauged the look on his face to be serious enough and considering Mr. Candle’s predilection toward discipline and spanking in particular it was far from surprising he would send me to a camp where spanking was part of the curriculum.

“You’re serious.” I said.

“Very. If you’re not you can leave. Otherwise, I expect to see your bare white ass staring up at the sky in the next thirty seconds.” He replied.

I swallowed my pride while Virginia tried to protect what remained of our dignity by doing as I was told without making a fuss. I didn’t even bother to ask whether he meant for my panties to be lowered as well or not. The word bare seemed sufficient to answer that question for me at least.

Rick produced a short, narrow piece of leather from his pocket and stepped up behind me. Looking through my legs, I fought the instinctual blushing when I realized I was providing an entertaining show for those who had been waiting for me all morning. If I were in their shoes it would have seemed a fair enough exchange, but from my upside down view, it was feeling a little tilted against me.

Rick wielded his little strap with the proficiency of an expert. I guess my butt was far from the first he’d had the pleasure of whacking. The damn thing stung like a bite and burned like the sun. He swung it fast and hard making me strain to stay down and take it like a woman. Maybe I should have let some tears fall and he might have gone easier, but something told me I didn’t want or need sympathy.

His efforts covered my entire backside with a pulsating burn that would easily compete with the worst I’ve had from Dad’s belt. I should have been angry at Rick, but Virginia understood. He has a camp to run and I, intentionally or not, had just wrecked his day if not his entire schedule for the week. There was only one person to blame and they weren’t present.

I noticed he was sweating when he stopped because at first I thought he was just pausing to wipe away the sweat from his forehead. I stayed down, my hands clenching tightly around my ankles in passive resistance to the nearly overwhelming urge to rub my tortured backside. A female voice interrupted my concentration and by her volume, I can only assume she wanted me to hear.

“I bet she’ll blaze a trail now.” She said.

A few others laughed and someone else spoke up.

“Now she really is hot stuff.”

More laughter ensued and despite my resolve to remain calm, my face flushed red in utter humiliation.

“Stand up. Hands behind your head and face me.” Rick ordered.

I did so slowly, careful not to trip on my shorts. It did not escape my attention, or anyone else’s for that matter, I was giving an unobstructed view of my privates. The only thing to be thankful for was that my top was still in place. I struggled to control my breathing and forget the humiliation despite the stifled giggles emanating from my audience.

“I think we understand each other now. I want five miles from you and you’ve got an hour to complete them. I don’t think I need to tell you what happens if you don’t finish on time.” Rick said.

“No, sir.” I replied.

I ignored the continued giggles behind him.

“Time starts now. Get going.”

I leaned down to pull up my shorts and panties. The material scratched against my tender flesh and left me wishing for a private moment to massage away the pain. I looked at Rick with tears stinging at the corners of my eyes, but forced them into the background.

“The clock is ticking Miss West. Unless you want to leave that is?”

Virginia set my jaw in defiance and rather than answering him, I turned and started running. The pain and the heat in my buttocks could have been a distraction, but instead I let it focus me. Mr. Candle’s chuckling face floated before my mind’s eye and anger drove me harder and faster than I’ve ever ran before. The sound of my shoes beating against the red dirt was all I heard and the passing monotony of chain link fencing is all I saw.