I could feel a gentle motion, back and forth, and perhaps twisting a bit. I could see nothing. I had built this room to be totally isolated from anything outside. Accordingly, there was no light whatsoever. Darker than any blindfold. There was a steel bar directly in front of my eyes, part of the web of metal holding me secure. I could not see it, nor anything else. The room was also as soundproof as I could make it.
I could barely move. The steel fit closely to my standing body from toes to scalp. As I was telling the first part of this story, my friend informed me that I had the name of my cage Incorrect. It is actually called a gibbet. Here is a picture of one fitted to a woman. And doesn’t she look secure, cozy, comfortable and happy.
How long was it? I could not tell you. It could have been 30 minutes or 3 hours. But, at last the door opened and the lights were flicked on. This time it was just Wendy, by herself. She came to the place my cage was hanging and told me she was sent down to check on me. They did not want a dead body on their hands. While the others seemed quite capable of anything, Wendy seemed like she did not belong on that team. She was definitely more gentle and caring than the others. She asked me if I wanted water, and I accepted. I told her I needed to use the bathroom. Since there was one in the dungeon she could keep me locked in while I went to the toilet. But she was cautious. She called to the others and asked for help. It was Red and Kat that came down. Red held the gun while Wendy opened the cage and released my hands from the shackles. I stepped out, but Red told me to stop. She wanted my clothes off. Easier to keep track of you, she said. Without a choice, I took off all my clothes.
While Red watched, I used the toilet. This, in itself, was humiliating and gave me a bit of a thrill. When I returned, Kat was holding a set of chains. She had been looking in my cabinets and came up with a heavy set of chains and shackles. While Red held the gun on me they put shackles on my ankles, wrists, and neck. This, of course, was a set I had made in my shop. My ankles were on a 16 inch chain, my wrists on an 8 inch chain, and my neck collared. All were joined by a chain connecting my collar, my wrist chain, and my ankle chain. I could take short steps, and my hands were too confined to be fighting. And, as long as there was a gun I had to obey them. And, by the way, sure they were just women. I could have fought off one and maybe even two of them. Even leaving aside the weapons, I don’t think I could overpower three or four of them. So, I obeyed.
“Nice of you to provide everything we need”, Kat said, indicating the chains. “Let’s go, we’re taking you upstairs for a conference”. She took hold of part of the chain and led me to the door and the stairs.
Upstairs, Ali was sitting at the dining room table. There was a bottle of my favorite Scotch whisky open on the table and an empty wine bottle and another they were drinking from.
“Sit down Steven” she said, indicating a chair. She had learned my name, somehow, while exploring the house. “We need to have a chat about the next few days.” She told me about the robbery and the chase and how they got here. They had a police scanner and had been checking the news. Roadblocks were still up and hiding out was their only option. “Sorry, but we are going to be your guests for at least two days and maybe more. The good news for us is that it looks like there is plenty of food and drink for all of us. And, we’ve been looking around, and it looks like you are not too unhappy about being held captive by some women. Am I correct?”
Sheepishly I nodded yes. She looked at Red. “Red, did you bring what I asked?” Red had been standing behind me. She stepped forward and handed Ali one of my whips. I have a good collection and she had selected possibly the most cruel one from the cabinet in the basement.
Ali took the whip and ran it through her hand, flexing it and swishing it in the air. “We are imposing on you and we were thinking of how we could compensate you for your hospitality. Fortunately your basement told us all we need to know about you. We are going to make the next few days as interesting for you as we can. So, get off of that chair and get down on your hands and knees.”
Chapter Three – Coming soon