The Club

Ch. 03 - The Gathering (Part 1)

Sylla slept late, drifting in and out of dreams through the lazy Saturday morning. When she finally allowed herself to wake up enough to roll over and glance at her bedside clock, she found that she had slept past noon. Sylla stretched like a cat, her lithe body tangled in the covers, and yawned deeply. She was incredibly horny. Sylla was always horny when she first awoke, but much more so this morning than usual.

Then the memories of the previous night washed over her. The Club. Her dominating victory over Annie. Her subsequent abuse of Anika. Slowly, her mind began to sort reality from dreams and she grinned to herself. No wonder she was so horny. The greater her victory, the more she craved another one. She reached between her smooth, muscular legs and rubbed herself, a soft moan escaping her lips.

Her cell phone chimed quietly on the bedside table, alerting Sylla of an incoming text message, and she reluctantly reached for the phone with her free hand as she slipped a finger inside her already wet pussy. The display showed a message had arrived from an unknown number. Sylla nearly tossed the phone aside so she could get back to her morning ritual, but curiosity got the better of her. She swiped open the phone with a thumb and read the message:

Check your mail! <3 - Annie

Intrigued, Sylla climbed out of bed and wrapped a black silk robe around her naked body. She re-read the message several times while walking the short distance to the kitchen, each reading eliciting a different reaction.

What was Annie playing at

? Sylla started a pot of coffee and decided to withhold judgement until she had checked her e-mail and consumed some caffeine. She smirked immodestly as she saved the number into her contact list as: '#34 - Annie.'

Armed with a colossal mug of steaming life-force, Sylla settled into her massive, cushy office chair and opened her email. That she had never given Annie her phone number or email address, she took in stride. The Club seemed to have resources and connections in excess. She scanned her unread emails until she saw one from 'The Club' with the subject line: 'Welcome, Mistress Sylla.'

The email contained only a web link, which Sylla clicked, and an accompanying username and password. The Club's website was completely blank except for a login prompt. Sylla felt a knot of excitement form in her belly as she cut-and-paste the entries from the email and entered The Club's virtual counterpart.

Sylla browsed the content. There were links for Member rankings and biographies, discussion forums, a calendar of events, private messages, and an interface for making and accepting challenges. She clicked the blinking messages icon in the top right corner and discovered that she had received no less than seven private messages.

The first was from Annie, naturally. She saved that one for last. Michelle, #30, bid her welcome to The Club, 'from one new girl to another'. Liana, #28, hoped they would get together soon and couldn't wait to see her again. Perhaps they could get together at the Gathering tonight, Liana suggested. Sylla wondered who Liana could be that she wanted to see Sylla

again

. She concluded that Liana must have been one of the two women she had walked past when she first entered The Club.

Belle, #27, also hoped to see Sylla at the Gathering. Linda, #24, congratulated Sylla on the 'most delicious first-time performance' she had ever seen. Sylla flushed with pride and speculated about how many of the members had already seen the video and were thinking about her. Claire, #11, welcomed Sylla to The Club on behalf of The Cabal. Sylla made a mental note to ask Annie about the Cabal. #18, who identified herself as Snake, told Sylla that she had great potential and lots of the Members would be looking out for her.

For the first time in her life, Sylla felt as though she had found a group to which she truly belonged. She felt a natural kinship, a bond, to these women who shared a philosophy that was unique and dear to her. Yet, at the same time, she was driven to rise through their ranks until she stood at the very top, looking down at the rest of them. She sipped her coffee thoughtfully as she pondered whether she should climb to the top as fast as she could, or systematically defeat every single member in order so that there would be no doubt that she was the very best.

Finally, she read Annie's message, which suggested they go together to the Gathering that evening so that she could show Sylla the ropes and introduce her around. Annie clearly had no hard feelings about being not only defeated during their challenge, but dominated, taunted, and ultimately humiliated. The message was filled with emoted winks and signed with Xs and Os. Sylla sighed and rolled her eyes. Annie was cute, and had a hell of a tongue, but she didn't need a puppy dog following her around The Club. She'd have to put Annie in her place before it got out of hand.

Sylla could only assume that a Gathering was some kind of group orgy. That was interesting, but she was really craving the kind of satisfaction she could only get from a man. Or men, she thought mischievously. Perhaps the Gathering would have some of the 'angels' Annie had mentioned. Her mind made up, she fired off a quick reply, telling Annie to pick her up in time to arrive a bit early for the gathering.

That accomplished, Sylla settled back to explore the site and decide upon a plan for advancing. First she checked the calendar link, which showed the Gathering scheduled for 9 PM that evening. There would be a live challenge during the Gathering, she learned, between Michelle (#30) and Kara (#29). Michelle had been one of the Members who had sent a welcome message, so Sylla wrote a private message to her, wishing Michelle luck and promising to cheer her on. She signed it, 'Sylla - The New Girl.'

On the challenges page, Sylla discovered that she was currently allowed to challenge any member between ranks 32 and 29. She clicked over to the rankings page and selected #32, Brandy. Brandy was also fairly new to the group, having only joined a few months previously. Her bio picture showed a thin, relatively plain-featured, intellectual-looking woman with shoulder-length brown hair. In the picture, clearly taken at The Club, Brandy was holding a glass of amber liquid in a large snifter, presumably brandy, and smiling at the camera with a knowing, puckish glint in her eye.

Sylla scanned the page until she found a link to issue a direct challenge, but was disappointed to be informed that Brandy was not currently accepting challenges. Reading further, she found that Brandy had recently suffered a loss to Liana (#28). Sylla admired her for challenging as high up the ladder as she was allowed and made a mental note to watch the video of their contest, which was available along with Brandy's other matches, a defeat by Michelle and a victory over Annie in her initial challenge.

With Michelle and Kara scheduled for a challenge that evening, only Amy (#31) remained as a potential candidate for moving up the ranks. Sylla found her bio page and studied the woman's picture. Amy had a round, serious face and long, brown hair, falling past her waist. Black-rimmed eyeglasses framed her small eyes and gave her a rather severe and imposing visage. She was dressed all in black flowing silk. The neckline plunged low, revealing almost impossibly large breasts.

She looks like a cross between my 3rd grade math teacher and a halloween witch

, Sylla mused.

Sylla issued the challenge, confident that Amy would pose no serious challenges for her.

If I don't get swallowed by her cleavage, that is.

Business concluded, Sylla selected the video of Amy's first challenge, against Kara, who had been ranked #30 at the time. Sylla settled back in her chair and began to slowly rub her clit as she studied every nuance of Amy's abilities.

* * *

The doorbell rang just as Sylla was dipping an experimental toe into the fragrant, steaming bath. With a hiss of annoyance, she wrapped a towel about herself and stamped to the door. Through the peephole, she spied Annie, wearing an expression of barely contained ebullience and an elegant dress which seemed extremely out of character on the young woman. Closing her eyes and taking a calming breath, she pulled the door slowly open and spoke deliberately, "You weren't supposed to pick me up for another hour and a half, Annie. What are you doing here?"

Annie bounced through the doorway and slipped her hands around Sylla's waist. "Hey, lover," she breathed into Sylla's ear. "I thought maybe we could have a little warm-up session before the Gathering. Were you about to take a shower? I can help," she added with a wink.

"Annie," Sylla began, with a warning edge in her voice, but she was interrupted by Annie's lips pressing against her own. Annie's hands slipped down to cup Sylla's ass and her tongue forced its way into Sylla's mouth. For a moment, Sylla was tempted. She felt very much on her game today and was eager to get started on the night's experiences. Furthermore, Annie

was

quite talented. But she had already made her decision on this particular point.

Sylla pushed Annie firmly away, a bit harder than she had meant to, and the girl took an awkward step backwards, bumping into the door frame and emitting a squeak of surprise and hurt. "Listen, Annie," Sylla said firmly, pointing a finger at the girl's chest. "I'm not your fucking girlfriend. You don't get to swing by for casual sex. I agreed to go to the Gathering with you and let you show me around, but that's all I agreed to."

Annie's mouth fell open but she made no sound. Her eyes instantly grew watery and her lower lip trembled slightly.

She bites that lip when she's turned on

, Sylla remembered. Sighing, Sylla took Annie by the arm and pulled her into the apartment, swinging the door shut. "Look, Annie. I'm not trying to be cruel. I like you. I do. You're fun to play with. Even if you're fucking annoying at times. But I have boundaries and you need to respect them." Annie nodded and sniffled.

"Grab some couch. Watch some TV. I'm going to take my time getting ready and then we'll head to The Club, alright?" Annie nodded and fled to the couch where she curled up into the far corner and kept her eyes cast to the floor.

Sylla turned and walked away, allowing her towel to fall away from her naked body just before she turned the corner into the bathroom.

Well, maybe a little cruel

, she admitted to herself.

As promised, Sylla took her sweet time getting ready. She lounged in the tub for nearly an hour, trying to relax and more or less succeeding in keeping her hands off of herself. She wanted to save every ounce of sexual energy for the Gathering. And she was absolutely brimming with sexual energy tonight. Perhaps it was from spending all morning on The Club's website, watching videos and masturbating, but Sylla felt as charged as she ever had in her life. She was ready for anything.

Annie, not surprisingly, had made a full recovery by the time Sylla emerged from her bedroom wearing an ankle-length black gown, high heels, and a silver necklace with a large, brilliant emerald danging between her breasts. She spun around from examining Sylla's CD collection to gape at Sylla. "Oh my God," she gasped. "You look incredible!" With a visible effort, she restrained herself from rushing at Sylla.

Smiling, Sylla approached and kissed Annie on the cheek. "Thank you, Annie. Now let's get going, shall we?"

They chatted companionably all the way to The Club. Annie drove a small, fast convertible with a complete disregard for any traffic laws. "I'm good at getting out of tickets," she said with a wicked grin as she blew through a red light. Annie provided a nonstop flow of information about the other Members and what Sylla could expect at the Gathering, but Sylla tuned her out to a large degree. There was nothing that Sylla wasn't prepared for, especially tonight, and she preferred to experience it all for herself. Annie turned into the underground parking lot of the movie theater adjacent to The Club and used a magnetic card to access an otherwise unreachable section of the garage. "Much more convenient," Annie remarked. "I'll get you a card, too."

They entered The Club through another unmarked door in a blank wall of the garage, and made their way down a long, gently descending hallway flanked by an endless series of doors. Annie, ever the dutiful tour guide, pointed out where each door led. Sylla stopped paying attention after the first dozen or so. The Club was, apparently, ridiculously large and offered every imaginable amenity, including a gym, swimming pool, restaurant, and spa.

Where's the petting zoo?

she wondered.

The hallway eventually emptied into a room so cavernous, Sylla swayed with vertigo. It was more of a small stadium than anything that could be reasonably referred to as a

room

. In the center was something akin to a circular stage, perhaps twenty feet across and deeply cushioned. The stadium radiated outwards in four concentric tiers. "This is where we have our Gatherings!" Annie exclaimed happily, pulling Sylla towards the center stage by the arm. "We have to stay down here on the lowest tier unless a higher ranked Member invites us up to their level," she explained. "Any of the Angels on this level are ours to do with as we please," she added happily, casually stroking one of the myriad naked men stationed all over the room as they walked past.

"These are all...angels?" Sylla asked staring about in awe. Annie nodded, biting her lip. "And they are all as skilled as Samael?"

Annie frowned slightly and scanned the room. "Not quite. I think Samael is ready for the next tier. But these are all fairly close," she answered. "I don't see him, do you?"

Sylla glanced about and shook her head. Looking back at Annie, she noticed a look of concern on the girl's face. "Wait a second," she chuckled. "You don't have a crush on Samael?"

Annie turned a pretty shade of pink and shrugged. When Sylla laughed, she explained, "We've been seeing each other kinda seriously for a while. I talked to him after you and him..." Annie trailed off momentarily. "He was really upset, and since then he hasn't returned any of my calls or emails. I went by his place this morning, but he didn't answer the door. I guess I'm a little worried."

"I didn't hurt anything but his pride," Sylla assured her. "He'll be fine."

Annie nodded gratefully and instantly regained her cheerfulness. "Let's get a couch by the stage," Annie suggested, dragging Sylla to a comfortable piece of furniture adjacent to the stage. As she inspected the couch, Sylla discovered built-in handcuffs hidden deep between the cushions. Annie grinned and pulled open a drawer on a nearby table, revealing an assortment of sex toys. "The batteries are always fresh," she said, grinning.

Sylla settled in and made a slow study of the room. There were at least 30 angels on the bottom tier. Each one was fit, attractive, and generously endowed. Sylla noted a few who interested her particularly. Her sexual energy was building to a level she had never experienced before. She felt like she could take on every man and woman in the Club tonight.

There were a number of women already seated around the lowest tier, some alone, some in groups. "That's Belle," Annie nodded towards a waifish blonde. "She's ranked 27th. She hasn't been able to crack the next tier, but she really excels at Gatherings." Belle had chosen three angels for herself and was already engaged in some rather heavy foreplay. "We could maybe join her," Annie added with a wink. "If you want."

A tall, athletic black woman was chatting on a nearby couch with the blonde woman that had been bartending the previous evening when Sylla first walked into the Club. Annie identified them as Lydia (#26) and Liana (#28). Liana dropped a wink at Sylla when she noticed her looking their way.

Sylla recognized Amy, to whom she had issued a challenge, sitting alone in the far corner of the lowest tier and overtly looking away from them. Sylla pointed her out to Annie. "I challenged Amy this morning. What do you know about her?"

Annie straightened and looked aghast at Sylla. "You already issued a challenge?" she exclaimed. "Did you ask Claire's permission first?" Sylla gave her a quizzical look. Annie groaned theatrically and shook her head. "You should have asked me before you did that. Amy is a member of the Cabal!"

Sylla rolled her eyes. "Ah, right. The Cabal. I meant to ask you about that. What's the story?"

"Claire is ranked 11th in The Club, "Annie began dramatically. "She's the leader of the Cabal. She's a practicing witch. And she's created a formidable team of Members who do anything she says. Amy is one of them. Claire manages all of their challenges. You should have asked her permission." When Sylla just laughed, Annie told her, "Be careful, Sylla. Claire is dangerous. The members who follow her are just hanging on her coattails, but she's spooky. And powerful. Everyone thinks that she is going to try to dethrone Donna with the Cabal."

Sylla gazed at Amy with a skeptical eye for a few long moments then continued her survey of The Gathering.

The next three tiers were considerably smaller than the central level. According to Annie, they were exclusive to Members ranked 21st to 25th, 16th to 20th, and 11th to 15th moving upwards. And their guests. Sylla spotted perhaps 15 angels on each of those tiers.

How could they be that much better than the angels on this level?

Sylla wondered. She had never encountered a man close to Samael's ability. The mere thought had her squirming.

I am going to do some damage tonight

.

The fifth and final tier was larger, encircling the entirety of the arena, but was entirely shrouded in shadow. Sylla squinted, but could not make out any details. "So what happens now?" she asked Annie.

"The Gathering begins when Donna walks in." Annie hesitated. "I didn't want to say anything, but there's a good chance she'll pick you tonight. She almost always picks new Members at their first Gathering. She might pick me, too, because we're together," Annie added hopefully. "Then, each member in attendance, in order of ranking, will choose their companions for the Gathering.

On cue, the lights dimmed and a quiet murmur pervaded the arena. Sylla followed Annie's gaze to a small group of women entering the room from the same hallway Sylla and Annie had come through. The group were led by the most exotic, exciting woman Sylla had ever seen in her life. Donna's olive skin seemed to glow with vitality. Her long, dark hair fell elegantly over her shoulders. She was dressed in strange, foreign garments from another time and place. For an instant, Donna's eyes traveled over Sylla, and her body shuddered unexpectedly.

Did I just cum?

she wondered distractedly. Sylla realized that she and Annie had drawn close together, their hands desperately roaming over each other's body.

Donna's gaze passed and the spell was broken. Sylla disengaged herself from Annie who let out a soft, forlorn sigh.

A throaty female voice echoed through the arena, speaking over the music in a precise British accent. "Welcome, Members. The Gathering has begun."

Annie squealed in delight and kissed Sylla's neck. "She's coming this way!" she exclaimed.

Every eye was on Donna as she made her way slowly across the bottom tier. Sylla waited breathlessly for Donna to turn and face her, but Donna walked slowly past their couch without making eye contact. A hint of lavender, honeysuckle, and rose petals trailed in her wake. Sylla sat stunned for several seconds. Several of the women following Donna glanced over their shoulder at her. Sylla took a deep, calming breath. "Guess she's afraid of losing her ranking," Sylla said to Annie with a wink, trying to hide her disappointment. Annie smiled wistfully and watched the women as they began to ascend the steps to the upper levels.