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"Keep
still, will ya? I think I can see
something!"
"Where?
Where?" The sound of my own voice seemed
suddenly distant and surreal to me.
I
desperately wanted to crawl as quickly as
I could away from Alex, but his fingers
remained locked around my ankles. His grip
felt so tight it made my legs feel leaden
and paralyzed.
"Right
there! On the inside of your thigh! It
looks somewhat red like the poison might
already be spreading. Whatever you do,
don't move!" Alex was emphatic. "Moving
will only facilitate the
toxins...."
A scream
built to a crescendo inside me but I had
the peculiar feeling not a single sound
was escaping my lips. It was as though I
was trapped in some kind of soundproof
chamber, able to hear the noise of voices
in the outside world but totally mute and
unable to respond in any way.
Alex
continued speaking. "I'm going to have to
suck out the poison!"
At that
instant I suddenly snapped awake, still
giggling at the absurdity of what I'd just
heard suggested. "Alex?"
"Ah!
Sleeping beauty is awake!"
I still
wasn't sure whether I was listening to the
Alex in my dream. My eyelids yawned widely
open and remained that way, fixed and
unblinking on Alex sitting in the driver
seat beside me. Breath was drawn in,
seemingly continuously as if trying to
extract every last molecule of oxygen to
feed my confused senses. I needed some
kind of rational explanation for the
peculiar, almost transcendental dream I'd
woken from.
"How
long was I asleep?" The urge to laugh
quickly subsided.
Alex
glanced at his wristwatch and then at me.
"Nearly an hour."
"Where
are we?" I blinked and tried to adjust my
tired, sore eyes to sights of civilization
flashing past outside the vehicle.
"Western
suburbs."
"Western
suburbs?"
"Of
Sydney. Are you okay?"
I felt
totally disorientated. My brain was trying
to process two different signals at the
same time. My eyes were seeing rows of
low, brick strips of shops and hundreds of
people milling around on the pavement
going about their daily business but my
mind kept replaying scenes of a stark,
barren landscape. Alex's hands were
clearly on the steering wheel but there
was still the lingering, dreamy sensations
of the grip of them around my
ankles.
"Um,
yes. It's nothing. I must have been
dreaming."
Alex
started talking, saying something about
stopping soon, but my mind was still lost
elsewhere.
"... and
you can have a shower there to freshen
up."
I felt
suddenly buoyed by the suggestion I'd be
allowed to shower soon.
"Where
are we going again?" I asked, trying to
grasp the conversation Alex had been
trying to have with me.
"My
place. We're almost there."
"Not a
motel?" I asked, feeling slightly
apprehensive all of a sudden.
"We
won't be stopping long. Just long enough
for you to freshen up a bit."
"Oh," I
mumbled, feeling satisfied with the
explanation.
*******************
"The
'burbs are the same everywhere, I see," I
said, feeling right at home in the
cul-de-sac street of brick and tile
houses.
"I
guess."
He
maneuvered the large vehicle into the
driveway of a gabled house at the top of
the street and switched off the
engine.
"I'll
get that for you," he said, offering to
carry my suitcase.
He led
me up to the front door, ushering me in
ahead of him after unlocking it.
Inside
wasn't quite what I expected. It looked
like my parent's house, with everything
neat and tidy and not a thing out of
place. But there was something missing;
something I couldn't quite put my finger
on.
"You're
very, um -- neat," I finally said, not
meaning to sound surprised.
"Yeah.
Well, I rarely am home. Spend most of my
time traveling so the place doesn't really
get lived in that much."
I
nodded, glancing around at things.
"There's
a bathroom down the hall there," he said,
pointing. "You'll find fresh soap and
towels there as well."
"Oh,
okay. Thanks."
I felt a
little awkward opening my suitcase with
Alex watching.
"I'll
fix us a couple of drinks," he said,
probably sensing my desire for a little
privacy.
"That
would be good," I smiled.
He
walked off to another room and left me
alone to retrieve a fresh pair of panties
from my belongings.
I gently
closed the bathroom door behind me, making
sure it was properly closed before
preparing to shower. The large, white bath
towels were where Alex said they'd be as
was a mat that I carefully set down on the
floor. I then slipped quickly out shoes,
suddenly having a flash-back memory of my
dream and the struggle I'd had removing my
jeans over them. I removed my jeans and
blouse, folding them neatly over a rail in
readiness to dress in them again
later.
"Oh God!
You look terrible!" I said to
myself.
My
reflection staring back at me from the
bathroom mirror looked gray and tired. I
leaned close and pressed my fingertips
under my eyes, flattening the jet-lagged
black circles I'd developed since leaving
home. The bloodshot redness of them seemed
to accentuate the blueness of my eyes
under the untidy mop of my blonde
hair.
"You
look like Rudolf!" I laughed, noticing the
beginnings of a pinkish sunburn on the
fair, lightly freckled skin of my nose and
cheeks. It felt tender to touch and I
reminded myself to refresh my sun block
after showering.
I spent
a long minute staring at myself in the
mirror. My eyeliner seemed to have
miraculously survived the flight although
my lips looked thin and pallid beneath
faded red lip gloss.
"Shower!" I said to myself,
quickly turning away and slipping out of
my bra. I dropped it to the floor and then
began peeling down my cotton
panties.
"Arrrgh!" I gasped in
horror at a very distinct, embarrassing
moistness in the crotch of them. "I've
been leaking!"
The
thought of having been aroused by my dream
in the car sent a shuddering chill through
my body. I stripped from my panties as
quickly as I could, blushing at the
thought which now had lodged itself
uppermost in my mind. "Arrrgh! I hope Alex
didn't smell me!"
The
pungent scent that escaped with the
release of my panties was palpable. I
scrunched them up into a tiny ball and
considered flushing them down the toilet
and probably would have, except I feared
they'd clog the plumbing and end up really
causing me embarrassment. Instead, I
folded them into a cup of my lacy bra and
secured the whole bundle with a small
knot.
Once in
the shower, I stood with my head back,
luxuriating in the feel of the water
gently cascading over me. The sweetly
aromatic raspberry colored soap felt rich
and creamy on my skin. I lathered it over
over myself, especially between my legs,
trying to wash away every last trace of my
embarrassing sexual odor.
"Are you
going to be long in there?"
"Shit!"
I gasped to myself, feeling suddenly
guilty to be intimately touching myself
with Alex standing right outside the
bathroom door. "Um, no. Nearly
done!"
"The
drinks are ready," Alex called
back.
I tried
to listen above the patter of the shower
for sounds of his movement. "Okay," I
said, hoping it would be enough of an
acknowledgement.
Convincing myself he was no
longer outside the door, I quickly rinsed
off the suds and groped through the shower
screen for a towel. Water from the shower
rose continued to dribble long after I
turned off the taps, but eventually it
stopped. Suddenly.
"Nearly
ready!" I called through the door.
I
hurriedly jumped into my fresh panties and
pulled them up, tracing my fingers under
the elastic hems to fit them flush under
my ass cheeks. My bra, I suddenly
remembered, would have to be abandoned,
unless I wanted to carry my soiled panties
back out to my suitcase. I shuddered at
the thought.
After
slipping back into my jeans and bra, I
bundled my damp towel into a turban on my
head and then glanced at myself in the
mirror.
"Oh
crap!" I cursed a droplet of water that
had spilled from my wet hair onto the
front of my blouse. Rubbing it spread the
dampness, causing the linen fabric to mold
itself tightly to the shape of one of my
nipples. I tried lifting it away, pinching
it, but this merely accentuated the
dampness and my now tingling
nipples.
"Please
don't do this to me!" I cursed my nipples
for becoming so tense and erect against
the inside of my blouse.
"You're
drink is getting hot," Alex's voice came
loudly through the bathroom door.
I jumped
in fright, blushing as I quickly smoothed
my blouse with both hands. "I'll be right
there!"
Not
wanting him to walk in on me, I rushed to
open the door and made a quick exit from
the bathroom. Hopefully, I thought to
myself, he won't notice. In a panic, I
nearly forgot my bra and soiled panties. I
stuffed these into one of my shoes and
then trotted barefoot back out to find
Alex relaxing with a drink.
He
smiled at me. I tried to smile casually
back as I dumped my shoes and their smelly
contents back into my suitcase, which I
then locked shut.
"Here,"
he said, offering me an effervescent,
emerald colored drink in an elegantly
sculptured glass.
"What is
it?" I asked, admiring the plump, bright
red strawberry bobbing among the ice
cubes.
"It's my
speciality!" Alex said. He appeared to
beam with pride.
"Well,
it looks absolutely delicious!"
"Go on,
taste it," he said.
I didn't
need any further encouragement.
Tentatively, I raised the glass to my lips
and sipped in a tiny taste. Bubbles
tickled my nose; there was a fragrant,
candy-like smell to it. "Mmmmm ... de --
licious!"
"You
like it?"
"Mmmm
--" I mumbled, swallowing a full mouthful.
"What's in it?"
"Oh, a
little bit of this; a little bit of
that."
"How
alcoholic is it?" I had to ask. After the
second mouthful, I could immediately feel
a light tingling in my toes and
fingertips.
"See if
you can guess," Alex said, encouraging me
to take another sip.
"Mmmm
..." I took one sip, and then another.
"That's not creme de menthe, is
it?"
I
couldn't think of anything else that would
account for the green coloring.
Alex
laughed. "No."
"What is
it?" I giggled and began to feel markedly
strange.
"Taste
it," Alex repeated.
I sipped
again. The ice cubes no longer felt so
cold against my lips. They were numb, but
I couldn't tell whether it was from the
cold of the ice or the effects of the
alcohol.
Whatever
it was, I suddenly felt incredibly dizzy.
So much so that the half empty drink in my
hand blurred in and out of focus. "Wha --
what's in it?"
I looked
towards Alex and saw multiple images of
him grinning wildly back at me. The
light-headed euphoria vanished to be
replaced by a terror that gripped and
cramped my stomach. He was laughing and
speaking at me, but his words sounded lost
in my swirling confusion. I could feel the
numbness in my lips spreading. First to my
tongue, then under my scalp, and finally
down through all my limbs. The last thing
I remember is the sight of my glass,
tumbling from my hands as if in slow
motion, and then crashing silently in a
green splash on the carpet.
************************
"This is
not a dream. This is real!" a voice in my
head woke me.
I felt a
lingering numbness and tried to stretch
with a yawn. My limbs felt strange and
leaden, unable to move. It was then I
suddenly snapped awake; my mind alert
despite the lack of movement control I had
over my arms and legs.
"Oh my
God!" I whispered hoarsely.
I was
surrounded by heavy gauge mesh wire.
Glancing up I saw my wrists shackled with
thick, fur-lined leather cuffs. They were
hitched together. A chain secured to them
held my arms stretched tautly above my
head. Looking down, I saw my legs spread
widely apart. There was a steel rod, about
one inch thick and maybe five feet long.
It's welded to points twelve inches or so
off the floor of the cage. My ankles, like
my wrists, are secured in cuffs that are
hitched roughly six inches away from
either side of the cage. I can circle my
feet in the air, turn my head a little,
and wriggle my fingers. Other than that,
I'm suspended and trapped. Completely
naked, suspended and trapped!
I'm in
the semi-darkness of what appears to be a
large, canvas tent. Pinholes of sunlight
rays shine down, illuminating another cage
similar to the one I'm suspended in. I
squint in the darkness and notice another
naked woman. She appears to be sleeping on
the floor of her cage. Just as I'm about
to call out to her, the flaps of the tent
suddenly open, blinding me with light from
outside. My eyes eventually adjust to
catch sight of two men dragging the other
woman, her knees buckling as she
half-walks, from the tent.
"What
the hell is going on?" the voice in my
head screams.
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