Adding Salt (water) to the wounds - Day Two Afternoon

Opening his eyes, Vas found himself on the same steel floor, shivering, doused in an icy brine, the strong acrid smell of saltwater filling his nostrils. Another full bucket of the same cold water douses him from above. If his mouth was dry before, it’s nothing compared to now as the salty water seems to be leaching the remaining moisture from his body.

“I thought this might make you a little more receptive.” Selena offered. “But if not, I’ll be happy to get more creative. So what’ll it be, you want to try things my way, or should we set you out to find two to take your place? I’m not worried about you running off - that band around your ankle is tethered to this ship. Like a dog on a leash. Question is, will you heel, dog?”

Vas in spite of the cold water his head buzzed. He pawed at his chest. “Wuuu haapend to my shirt?” Vas said drunkenly.

“I took it. When you learn to behave, you’ll earn it back. Same as your shoes.” She said, matter of fact. “Do you feel like behaving?” She dangled his shirt over the railing.

“Phhhh your soooo weird.” Vas rambled. “You ain’t even my girl … nowhere close.”He chortled.

“Am I though? You want something on this ship, you earn it. A bunk, food, water, even the clothes on your back. All of it belongs to us.”

“Gorram slaver …” Vas said shaking off the fuzziness the cold starting to settle in his bones. Wonderful. Least he had his pants! He struggled to sit up wincing everything aching. “... just gimi my goram shirt.” He said standing up. Vas could only hope if anyone out there would notice his absence it would be Jacy.

“So what’s it going to be, boy?” She asked, dangling his shirt from one hand, the remote in the other.

"I said gimi my gorram shirt didn't I?" He huffed irritated! What she wanted him to kiss her toes too?! Vas would play nice as long as he needed but the second he could get out he would. If he was lucky he would make this so-called crew regret it too. They had the advantage for now but that could change.

“Getting there.” She taunted, hitting Vas with yet another jolt. He’d eventually learn -- they all do. In the meantime, Vas would also learn that saltwater is an excellent conductor of electricity.

Vas wailed as hit the wet floor, which only made it worse. The intensity of it left him twitching and contorted gasping for air like a fish out of water. Even for the punk he only has so much in him with how rapid and heavy-handed the disciplinary shocked came at him. He was seeing stars with that last one. It was all he could do but blink slack-jawed as the pain took its sweet time to ebb away. That last one hurt him damn near stupid.

“Come again?” Selena asked sweetly, holding up his shirt and the remote a bit higher. “You have something to ask, politely?”

">Mumble mumble< chief >mumble< crew >mumble mumble mumble< goat." Vas said incoherently from the floor.

“Good boy!” Selena said, using the same tone as she would a dog learning to sit for the first time. “You earned the right to earn your shirt back. There’s a mop in the storage locker to your left. Clean up the mess you made, make that floor shine like a gorram silver coin and you can have your shirt. Otherwise?” She held up the small device in her hand. “I can do this all day.”

Vas, after getting some semblance of his brains cells back and working stiffly hobbled to the storage locker with the mop. Oh, he hurt. It would be worse tomorrow. He just hoped it didn't get that far. It was all he had at the moment if that ship left port he was sunk. In the wind as they say. They said three years but wasn't moon brained. He knew all too well how they kept you contracted.

He mopped the floor with a dark cloud of vengeful thoughts.