The final day before the rebel's festival was easily the worst Gwendoline had known since she arrived at the place over a week before.  Had it not been that Jomo,  the buttock-obsessed rebel,  had  returned to slashing  her welcoming cheeks,  after deserting them  in favour of Harriet's , she would not have survived the day.  The sun seemed to have acquired evem more strength than  it had in the days of her searching for Harry.  All this would have been bad enough, but the two dehydrated,  parched girls were denied two drink breaks in succession.  When they were finally pushed into the cage with a meal and jug of filthy looking water, they were both so utterly exhausted and feeling so terribly ill that it was some time before they felt like talking.

"What time do you think they will take us both out to be tied down, Harry?"

"A couple of hours before dawn - that's the usual drill.  Last time this happened was about two months ago.  I almost died, Gwen!  You can't imagine how fucking awful it is, lying there for hour after hour with the sun beating down on you , getting thirstier by the second and nothing to drink all day.  I had an absolutely agonising headache that lasted a week afterwards.

And now, you turn up out of the blue and insist on making it worse by insisting we try to pull those pegs out of the ground.  Have it your own way, though - I'm so pissed off with all this,  I'm desperate enough to try anything"

"Let's get some sleep,  my lovely,  darling Harry!    Please. Oh,  please!   Move closer, sweetheart, right up against me!    I so desperately need to feel your lovely sweet body touching me  this last few hours before our day of torture."

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As Harriet had predicted, the rebels came to take them out to be tied,  speadeagled on the ground,  at about an hour before daybreak.  They were both given a cup of water to drink and than left.  A rebel sentry appeared from time to time to make sure they were still here.

"Come on Harry.  Keep pushing and pulling.  Try to work the pegs loose that way!  Just keep it up as long as you can!  If you think you've got one loose, stop and let me know.  One free hand between the two of us should be all we need."

Both girls strained at loosening their bonds all morning until the sun became too strong and Gwen was forced to agree with harriet that that must rest until the sun began to go down.

"I think there's a bit of give, Harry. We could just be in with a chance."

And then, at about four in the afternoon, when the two prisoners were about to pass out with thirst and exhaustion, it began to rain.

"Does it tend to be very heavy, Harry - the rain that is in these parts?"

"No idea, Gwen. There's been a drought for the past five years"

"Well, try and catch the odd drop of Heaven sent moisture on the end of that delectable tongue, Harry.  I refer to that supreme artifice of the supreme maker,   whose soft, warm and slithery presence my mouth has craved for so long.  We could be in line for some welcome refreshment."

"If you were less  fond of talking, Gwen  - you wouldn't be so thirsty!"

The drops became larger, although the ground, dry as it was,  soaked them up as if they had never been.  For each sweet portion of longed for moisture that fell on their opened mouths and stretched out tongues, fifty fell uselessly on their bodies.

"I think it's getting heavier, Harry"

"Balls.  Just a few drops.  Be over soon"

"Fuck you - you rotten pessimist!"
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After an hour of rainfall, even Harriet had to agree that the  downpour was increasing.  Both girls began to revive as they thirstily sucked in the drops of water that were falling  ever more heavily upon them.

As night began to fall, a guard came over with the water ration that was to sustain them until dawn.  He took one look at the wet ground and laughed.

"Plenty water - you no need this!"

He went away, laughing to himself.

"He's right, Harriet, my dearly beloved friend.  I'm having to try to keep the water out of my mouth now, there's so fucking much of it."

"Shall we start pulling and pushing again, Gwen?"

"Sure thing Harry!  It's now or never!"
 

Gwendoline had not  been wrong.  The stakes began to move to and fro in the and rain-softened earth.  After half an hour Gwen gave the order to start pulling upwards and with all their strength.  It took a few minutes to force one peg out of the ground.  After that it was the work of seconds to get both girls free.

"What now, Gwen?"

"I think we should take a look around, Harriet.  There don't seem to be too many  of these bastards about."

Acting on Gwen's instruction they made their way carefully to the administrative compound and to one building in particular.  Gwen motioned Harry to remain hidden and went up to one of the windows.  A few seconds later she came back.

"There's some kind of briefing session going on in there.  Lots of very self-important looking people, decked out in ludicrously badly designed uniforms on the platform, and everyone in the audience looking adoringly  up at them as if the sun shone out their arseholes.  Let's go over to the aviation fuel stores, Harry my sweet girl.    I feel like Torquemada tonight."

It soon became obvious that the rebels were sufficiently sure of themselves to leave very few guars patriolling their main base during the night.  The two well trained kick boxers made ver short work of such few and drunken guards as they did find.

A frantic search of the fuel tank compound revealed a length of tubing and a plastic bucket.  Harriet managed to knock off the end of the outlet pipe and ran a few gallons of fuel into the bucket.  Gwen took it from her and ran off back towards the meeting room.  Meanwhile the fuel continued to run out of the tank and the rainwater seemed to be carrying it down towards the main compound.

After a few minutes, which seemed to Harry to last for ever, gwen came back.

"I splashed fuel all over the meeting room and managed to get some under the doors.  Best be out of here.  Just hope someone lights a cigarette in the wrong place and at the wrong time.  Pity we don't have the means of blowing this fuel dump up, though.  A remote controlled detonator is all we'd need."

"I think I might have the answer to that, my dear young ladies!" said a voice from out of the darkness.

Harriet looked,  as the owner of that voice came into view.  As she recognised him, she screamed with joy.

"Bernard!  Oh my darling man!  How in Heaven's sweet lovely name, do you come to be here?"