Bound
room,” Jayson said.
Amber thought it odd too. Four LED lamps, glowing red, had been placed in each corner of the room. A large mattress lay right on the floor in the middle of the room. And along three walls there were metal bars from floor to ceiling, attached to rails that looked like they had been bolted into the wall—there was an insane amount of bolts. Padding had been placed along the floor, in front of the bars, with white sheets on top.
As if that weren’t enough, there were also three machines, one in front of each padded bar section, essentially framing the bed like a twisted sex dungeon.
“What are those things?” Amber asked. She, like Jayson, was not only handcuffed to the bars, but was also taped around her wrists—and the handcuffs—to the bars. She couldn’t move her arms at all. Jayson sat like she did, across from her, with legs out, arms up, and unable to move.
“Come on,” Jayson said. “Don’t you ever watch porn? They’re fucking machines, for a woman, or I guess an adventurous dude. Don’t you see the… you know?”
Amber laughed. “The what?”
“You’re going to make me say it? Fine. The dicks.” He started pointing at each machine. “That one thrusts, that one you ride, and, Jesus, that one looks like a messed-up combination of both.”
Amber laughed harder, tears forming in her eyes. “Totally know what these are, FYI. Just wanted you to describe them.”
“Hardy-har-har. We’ve got all this free time. Why not. I mean, the Quisling will probably just let us go, right?”
“I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.”
Jayson goggled. “Of course not. We’re going to die.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. They would have done it already.”
“Or they were in a hurry and plan on doing it later. How are you so calm?”
“I don’t know.” She pondered for a moment, wondering just that. She was calm, which, given their situation, did seem weird to her. But after everything, and now being in a sex chamber that she could hardly believe was likely Lorcthe’s room, what could she do? “I guess maybe it’s because they said ‘We’ll take it from here,’ and that’s fine by me. I say let ’em take a crack at Eziel. They’ll probably wipe each other out. And, hopefully, between Krull, Boston, and Ralph, they’ll figure out where we are.”
Jayson nodded. “Hmm, never thought about that. Yeah, chances are the Quisling never make it back here or will get delayed. And, yeah, for sure Boston will figure out where we are. Effing A. Thanks, Amber. I feel way better.”
“You got it. Honestly, I say we try and get some sleep, as uncomfortable as this is.”
Jayson looked up at his bound wrists and hands. “I mean, the handcuffs weren’t enough? They just had to use duct tape too, and like half a roll on each of us? Yep, we’re going nowhere. It’s gonna hurt like a bugger getting it off. Did they take your phone too?”
“They did, though it doesn’t work anymore after the light stick fried it. Not even sure why I was still carrying it with me.” Regardless, why take their phones? They couldn’t possibly use them. They had no choice but to wait. The only question was: Who would get to them first?