I could feel someone, annoyingly, fiddling, tugging, and pulling at whatever covered my face. Then a fierce light pierced my black darkness and I blinked repeatedly, trying to adjust to the strange sight and smells around me. I couldn’t move. I was sat, pinned, sitting on a chair, my arms and legs secured. I couldn’t stand up.
My vision was blurred but I could make out Gail standing before me; it was the wedding ring and her perfume that gave her away. Somehow triumphant in her demeanour. Bailey, her attractive daughter stood further back, a little nervous; even though she was a twenty something and grown up now, I knew it was her.
Gail bent forwards. “You’re doubtless thinking what you’re doing here. It’s very simple. I wanted a dog and Bailey needed a man. Then we thought, well, a dog can be very expensive, firstly to buy in the first place, and then there’s the injections, food, vets bills. Then I would worry about my dog being stolen. Then a man, well, that can get complicated. I don’t need love, I need simplicity. But then I knew you were available, so two birds with one stone so to speak. No one will want to steal you, right?” She laughed.
Confused conflicting thoughts surged about my head. I tried hard to make the slightest sense of what she was saying and where I was. It’s as though disconnected words were pouring from her mouth but which were meaningless, and yet, there I was, restrained, motionless in front of them in a damp darkened room.
I knew Gail well. We had dated some ten years before. We had enjoyed good times- erotic times, which sadly came to an abrupt end. The sudden unexpected heartbreak ending was her doing, not mine. She knew full well that I never wanted our relationship to end and I had continued to beg her for us to get back together, year after year. I was addicted to her, not only because she was so attractive, but also because when it came to sex and bondage we had been a match made in heaven. Her liking of domination, in the best possible way, knew no bounds, which matched my fascination for masochism perfectly. But that was then, a world away. As regards her daughter, I had only known her as a bright teenager, rebellious, cheeky and ready to find her uncharted way in the world. So there she was, a young beautiful woman.
I tried to connect those facts to the Gail and Bailey that I had known in the past, to the fact that they were both standing in front of me, like hunters examining their prey. Then the missing memory surfaced, the way in which Gail, totally unexpectedly, had emailed me three days ago, asking if I would like to meet her again. The incredible happy feeling I had enjoyed in holding her once more and having a meal at her house. The growing feeling of dizziness, my knocking my plate of salmon and new potatoes onto the floor, the fact that I had blacked out, falling over as I tried to stand up and leave the table in the kitchen.
Her voice once again resonated, as I tried to concentrate on what she was saying. I tried to speak. Random words formed in my mind but my lips wouldn’t move.
“Don’t worry about talking or trying to move,” she added, “it’ll take a while for the knock out drops to fade from your body. I got them from Maggie over the road. You met her. She’s a nurse, her speciality is pain control. She assured me they would work well.” She reached out and her gloved hand clasped my jaw, squeezing it tight.
“You see Bailey, you see how weak men are. How shallow. How pathetic. He’s only here because of his unending, ridiculous attraction to me.” She let go of my chin and slapped my face hard with her hand.
I recoiled from the force of her blow. She took a step back and thought for a moment. Bailey approached closer, curious about me. Her eyes smiled as she savoured my helplessness.
Gail continued. “If you can understand what I’m saying, nod your head.”
I did as she said. She drew up a chair and sat down.
“So, let me explain. We’re going to keep you here, with two aims in mind. As I said Bailey is still a virgin but doesn’t want the aggravation of having a stupid boyfriend or anything like that. So when the time is right she will use you to end her virginity. Secondly, as I mentioned, I’d like a dog and with that in mind we will both train you in that capacity. Sounds silly, I know. To start with we’ll keep you down here and when appropriate we will allow you upstairs and in the garden from time to time. How does that sound?”
Again I tried to move my mouth, but no words came out.
“I know you live on your own and you don’t work, so you won’t be missed. We’ve got your wallet here so we’ll talk about your credit card accounts soon. You’ll need to contribute towards your living costs.”
Gail moved towards me and ran her fingers softly through my hair, then grabbed a handful and yanked it tightly backwards.
She continued. “You will learn that your fixations and yearnings for the trappings of bondage that you love so very much are in fact your worst nightmares. Your wanting to see me will turn to hatred. The sensations you have found to be arousing and stimulating will become the exact opposite. You will find no pleasure here, just the reverse. Bailey and I will teach you a new world, a world of give and take, shall we say. We will take away your personality and your character and turn you in a being of our design. One designed to be subservient, obedient, one designed for our amusement. We will take away your free will and the world that you once knew and replace it with a new one. How does that sound?”
Icy moments passed as she stared at me, waiting for a reply. Once more I tried to speak, but couldn’t.
“Nod your head if you understand what I’m saying,” she instructed. I nodded. I could understand. I tried to judge if she was being serious or not. I knew from our past relationship that she normally followed through on any commitment she made or any plan she formulated. Either way I decided to play along.
“So, with all that in mind, we have a programme for you. Bailey and I will look after you down here, feed you, keep you hydrated & exercised. In terms of taking away, we will remove all your body hair and clothing. We will take away any sensory stimulus for long periods and slowly reprogram you with new thought processes over the coming days and weeks. If you choose to defy us, this process will only be more painful and take longer. When we consider you are ready, we will allow you periods upstairs and even in the garden for outdoor recreation. Doubtless you may have questions soon, once the drugs have worn off. In the meantime let’s get started.”
Bailey picked up an object from a nearby table and moved towards me.
“This is our primary means of control. Cheap and highly effective.” Bailey stretched out what seemed to be a collar with a small plastic black box attached to it, and placed it round my neck. I tried to back away from her, but couldn’t. After a few moments she secured it with a padlock on the buckle at the back of my neck.
Gail smiled menacingly as she picked up a small device and approached me once more.
“These dog control collars should be banned really. They are so painful, it’s untrue. I know, I’ve tried it. Let me show you.” She pressed a button and with that simple action, a fearful pain shot through my neck. I gasped for air, my heart missed a beat.
Gail seemed amused. “That’s setting number five. It goes as high as thirty. Shall we give that a try?” She tapped the button repeatedly. Bailey smiled and seemed excited, eagerly anticipating my impending suffering.
I struggled harder against my restraints and shook my head from left to right, grunting my disapproval. She pressed the button once more and my world was ripped apart by the overwhelming shock that tore through my neck. Every muscle in my body contracted. She took her thumb off the button and I slumped back down on the chair.
“That was only twenty. I might be cruel, but I do have some compassion.” She gently rubbed her hand around my face and then ran her fingers through my hair once more.
She continued. “So. Just so that we are on the same page. We are going to keep you down here, look after your basic needs. We will feed you and keep you well. We will toy with you from time to time for our amusement. At some point Bailey will become more familiar with you so she can understand more about men. If you defy us, try to escape or resist, you will suffer in every respect, physically, emotionally and mentally.”
I wanted to think that this was all a charade, that they were playing games with me. I smiled at them, looking at each of them in turn, but their faces were stern, unforgiving. They were serious. This was no game. This was a nightmare. I shook my head again, to register my disapproval.
Gail’s only response was to again pick up another couple of objects from the table and hand them to Bailey.
“It’ll take you a few days to get used to your new surroundings, and we’ll take things one step at a time. For tonight you’ll stay on your chair, as you are. Bailey approached me with what seemed to be a gag of some kind. She placed part against my face and then spread out various straps so they reached around the back of my head. She pulled them tight so my mouth was pulled shut.
I moaned and tried to move my head to frustrate her but she merely placed her arm about my head and held my head tight.
“Rule number one. We don’t want any noise. The slightest peep out of you overnight and you’ll earn yourself shocks. Either way this gag will do the job. And to help you get used to isolation and the dark, this hood. ”
Bailey stretched open a black hood and held it over my head. She smiled as she lowered and tugged it downwards, over my eyes, then fully downwards so it covered all my head. I could sense her tighten it around my neck, so it pulled ever tighter.
“Don’t worry, there are air holes. It might get a little stuffy in there, but you won’t suffocate,” Gail said reassuringly. She added. “See you in the morning. We’ll have one or two things to sort out, but it’s Saturday tomorrow, we’ll have some fun and get going with your training.”
Her voice was a little muffled on account of the hood covering my ears but I heard her well enough. I shook my head even more violently and tried to open my mouth, but everything was well secured and held in place.
I could feel the weight of one of them sitting on my lap and the comfort of arms around the back of my neck. A finger tested the tightness of the hood against my throat, followed by an adjustment, so that the hood pulled ever closer around my head.
“That’s better. Tight, but not enough to strangle you. There’s a happy balance to be struck. I wouldn’t want you to die with this on your head.”
The subtle sensation of a kiss on the front of the hood.
“Welcome back, I’ve missed you,” Gail whispered. “You see, all your stupid letters you sent me year after year have had the desired effect. We’re back together.” I could feel her getting up. “I’d forgotten just how much I enjoy being in control of a man,” she added.
The thought of my impending night alone in discomfort overwhelmed me. I struggled violently again with every last ounce of strength I had. I fought as hard as I could. Panic and terror consumed me, to no avail. My breathing quickened as my lungs fought for fresh air.
“Oh, and by the way, there’s a camera on the wall in front of you so we can see upstairs at any time. It’s motion activated and sends an alert to my mobile phone. Too much motion and I’ll shock you, big time.”
I tried with every ounce of effort to scream, but it was impossible. The sound of shoes going up a stone staircase. The flick of a switch and a door closing. I could make out the turn of a key in a lock. Then, nothing, only the sound of my strained breathing and the slight clink of chains that held me tight as I pulled against them. I could feel the inside of the hood becoming moist and warm with the water vapour in my breath.
I craved a new sensation of some kind, any kind. But nothing, apart from the distant gentle gurgling of a water pipe and the occasional creak of a floor board above me. I still prayed that my predicament was part of a giant hoax. I prayed she would come back. Even then the creaking floor boards stopped and every passing minute reinforced my worst fears. A shiver travelled down my spine, caused by a combination of uncontrollable fear and a fall in the air temperature.
Conflicting thoughts ran through my mind. I wanted the reassurance of being in the presence of another human being, but at the same time I feared what that twisted torment that might bring.
I don’t think I slept. As time progressed my efforts to count the hours became increasingly pointless as I lost any reference points or stimulation. I guessed at the passing of an hour and then two hours, but it could have been any number. I had no idea. I tried hard not to dwell on my immediate future and what Gail had planned for me; I continued to pray that she would let me go, and that she meant no real harm would come to me. Perhaps I would be able to escape quickly, that they would make a mistake and that I would be able to overpower them and fight my way out with force.
I start to suffer pins and needles and then cramp. My arms and legs ached from their immobility and slowing blood circulation. I tried hard not to think too much about the immediate future and my mind wandered through past memories.
Suddenly the sound of a switch and the distant gurgling of water in a pipe. Perhaps morning had come at last.
Day One
I heard the muffled sound of a key in a lock, a door opening and a set of footsteps. At last, I was so relieved my darkness was about to end. I could feel straps being released and the hood being pulled upwards. I was back in the real world, such as it was, with Gail standing over me.
“How did you sleep?” she enquired. “That’s an unfair silly question I know. Chances are you didn’t sleep at all.” She fiddled with a small plastic bag full of dark liquid and hung it close above my head. She took a connecting tube and stretched it out, placing the free end through a small hole in the front of my gag. I could taste the warm thick liquid flow into my mouth.
“It’s a high protein liquid food. The type used by runners and athletes. It’ll keep you healthy and hydrated. This one’s banana flavour.”
She turned away and busied herself with a range of objects on a table in the corner of the room as I quickly sucked on the fluid.
She turned back and sat in the chair opposite me. She removed the tube from my mouth and loosened the straps that held the gag in place.
“Now, I don’t want you to think that we’re like vampires, taking all and everything from you. I see this as a game of balanced give and take. I’m going to give you a lot over the coming weeks. A lot of time and attention, a lot of energy and commitment and I expect the same from you in return. What do you think about that?”
I shook my head from left to right.
“Don’t be like that. You’ll see what I mean soon. First things, first. Now, we need to buy a few things so we’ll need access to your credit cards.” She pulled three credit cards and a mobile phone from her pocket. I knew they were mine, straight away. She held up the first credit card and waved it in front of my face.
“So, card number one. Merchant Credit Bank. Pin number?”
I froze. The enormity of what was unfolding, hit me like a freight train. Being restrained was one thing, but now she was wanting to defraud me.
“Let me remind you about our arrangement. We can do this effortlessly or you will suffer in multiple ways. Let me ask you again. What’s the PIN number for this card?”
I still couldn’t bring myself to answer her simple question. A wave of fear hit me as she held up the remote control for the shock collar. I shook uncontrollably.
“Last and final chance.” Her voice was stern. A moment passed before she pressed the button and my body convulsed in searing agony. A bolt of evil pain shot through my neck. Her finger came off the button and I panted, my lungs emptying in an effort to exhale the fading shock from my stunned body.
Our eyes met as she surveyed me with curiousness. Her face was devoid of any feeling and compassion as she adjusted the setting on the remote control.
“I don’t want to hurt you again, but I will,” she got up from the chair, tightened the collar around my neck so I could more clearly feel the two metal electrodes against my skin.
I was shaking with fear as the collar once more delivered its dreadful blow. I convulsed uncontrollably once more as my body descended into a chasm of darkness.
“Seems you have both a determination to not to give in and a high tolerance to pain. But that’s fine. We’re not in a rush and your continued sense of isolation down here will become overwhelming after a while. I like a challenge. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
She approached me with the hood in her hand and I panicked, shaking my head violently from left to right to stop her pulling it over my head. But it was in vain and once more I was in darkness, my senses dimmed and that familiar smell of leather filling my nostrils. I felt the subtle sensation of her kissing the hood at the front, then her footsteps on the stairs and the closing of the door.
My mind was in disarray. Adrenaline still pumping through my body and my breathing still laboured as I faced the prospect of another period of captivity and enforced loneliness. Sadness and helplessness swept over me and tears rolled from my eyes, adding the dampness inside my hood.
Day Two
Somehow I think I slept despite my discomfort. The long hours of the night seemed to pass quicker. I had previously fought against my hood, but now it was becoming a natural part of me. Where I had tried to reject it, I was now compliant with the manner in which it hugged my head. In the same way that a rucksack seems heavy and a burden when you first load it onto your back, then after walking while, you don’t notice it's there. I didn’t hear her come down the steps this time. The only awareness I had to start was the hood being tugged off my head. Then the familiar tube being pushed into my mouth.
“I thought you could do with a change. Its chocolate flavour today.” I turned my head to see Bailey come down the stairs and then stand next to her mother.
“I’ve made a decision,” Gail announced. “I think it’s wrong of me to use too much physical pain on you, so we’re going to change tack. The sooner you come to terms with your situation mentally, the sooner we can move on with your training. With that in mind, today is haircut day, or perhaps I should say more properly, hair shave day. Bailey produced some electric hair clippers and plugged them in. Gail went to the back of my chair and loosened my gag. For the first time in two days I opened my mouth and moved my jaw. Immediately I started begging with her.
“Please let me go. Don’t do this. You’ve made your point. Let me go.” Over and over I repeated these words. She listened for a while then picked up the remote control for the collar. Gail pushed the button and my words transformed into a scream of pain. The loud click of the clippers being switched on preceded a loud angry hum as they burst into life. Bailey approached ever closer and Gail went behind me, placing her arm firmly around my neck to prevent me moving my head.
I could feel the clippers do their work and the softness of my hair as it cascaded downwards over my face. Within moments Gail released her hold on my neck and Bailey stood back, turning off the clippers.
Both of them stood in front of me to admire their handy work. They looked and smiled at each other, clearly pleased with themselves.
“I thought he’d look different somehow,” commented Bailey. Gail ran her hand over my now bald head. “I think he looks more the part now. ” She replaced my gag and Bailey swept up my hair from the floor around me. With those words I decided I didn’t want another day or night under the hood and tried hard to shout out the numbers but as I did so yet again the hood was pulled down over my head and secured. I screamed as much as I could, but to no avail.
“Can’t make out what you’re saying. We’ll see you tomorrow and perhaps we can talk about PIN numbers then.”
I threw my head violently about and fought with my restraints with every last ounce of strength I had. My heart pounded, driven by my abject fear of being alone once more. Once again I could sense hands holding the back of my head and a soft kiss on the front of my head. Then the sound of footsteps on the stairs. In my black solitude I wept and wept, my spirit broken, destroyed by Gail.
Day Three
I no longer knew if I was awake or asleep. I didn’t know if the images I saw were in my head or fleeting fantasies. I had no sense of time. I didn’t know any more what a minute or an hour felt like.
The hood was pulled from my head and white light filled my eyes. There they were once more, complete with a new bag of liquid food. Bailey removed my gag and wiped tears from my cheeks.
Gail sat on a chair in front of me, her finger hovered over the keypad on her mobile phone.
“Six, six, nine, three,” I blurted out, trying not to panic.
“And the address for the card account?” she asked.
“It’s my office address, Unit 7, Roundwood Industrial Estate, BJ55 2LD.”
“Credit limit?”
“Twelve thousand pounds.”
“That should do for the moment,” she replied, with a menacing tone. She moved closer to me, her face inches away from mine. “Let me make it very clear. If ever you resist me ever again, defy me in any way, try and escape, this where you will end up. In the dark, hood on, electric shocks, for many, many days. But let’s look on the bright side. Bailey and I are going to do some online shopping and you can look forward to your situation slowly improving, so long as you don’t muck about. Each day will bring more comfort for you until we feel it’s right for you to join us upstairs.”
With that Bailey moved to stand behind me and rearranged the restraints that had held me immobile.
“So, no more hood or gag, you can now walk around.” My hands were now secured by cuffs connected by chains to a large belt around my waist. Around my neck remained the shock collar, now connected by another long chain, the other end secured to a bolt on the floor. I stood up slowly, my limbs weakened by the experience of the last three days. My neck muscles contracted for a moment as a small shock surged from the collar.
“Just testing,” teased Gail with a smile. They both readied themselves to leave.
“Don’t forget to drink your shake and you can do some exercises as well, you know, press-ups, squats, star jumps, things like that. We’ll be watching. If you feel two small shocks it’s a signal for you to exercise more. In the corner over there by the basin there’s a towel, face cloth and soap. Clean yourself up a bit. We’ll leave the light on too. By the way, when we return we expect you to kneel before us, head on the floor, by way of a greeting. Got that? So, let’s try that shall we?”
I nodded my head slowly in approval. Slowly, fighting the stiffness in my limbs I got to my knees, my head on the floor. “Now, kiss my feet,” she added. I shuffled forwards inch by inch and did as she wanted.
I looked up at her. “Why are you doing this to me?” I pleaded.
“Because I can. Because it’s payback time for all the times I told you to leave me alone, but you didn’t. Because you, down here, you complete me. Because your suffering makes me feel stronger. Because all men should suffer like you will.”
They turned and left; the door closed behind them and the key turned in the lock as usual. I tried to reconcile my predicament and that my future was not in my hands. Gail had taken my love for her and used it against me. In the most fearful way possible.