Love Lies Dying (43 page)

Not yet.

Not yet?

I said, not yet!

The metal teeth bit home around his bruised wrists once more. At least Zoe was careful to keep the cuffs away from the stitches near his left wrist.

“Sorry,” she said.

Without taking her eyes from him, she walked to his side and let some of the leash drop to the floor, creating a greater space between them.

“Okay,” she said. “Climb down.”

Slowly, more for his benefit than hers, John climbed from the table. His feet touched the floorboards and he stood on the floor, testing his legs, making sure he wasn’t about to topple. It felt strange to be standing again after almost two days, but quickly his body adjusted and he steadied himself. He could keep silent about the pain in his arm and shoulders, his chest and back, if it meant he had a chance to escape.

You have to!

I know!

And soon!

I know!

He smiled at her.

She tugged on the leash, bringing him forward a couple of steps.

“Come on,” she said. “You need to go for a walk.”

She turned and pulled on the leash once more, dragging him forward as she marched down the side of the kitchenette, leading to the bathroom.

He followed her.

The stiff leather collar dug into the back of his neck, but he didn’t care. With her back turned to him, he had a good chance to look around. A chance to check out the church once more, without being tied to a chair or table. He tried to spot anything that may be of use to him.

Anything!

He tried desperately not to look at Zoe’s swinging red arse cheeks in front of him.

It may be your only chance to look!

His eyes scanned the kitchenette. Apart from the cutlery still scattered across the counter, there was nothing else he could use as a weapon.

Grab one of the knives and use it?

They’re not big enough to threaten her with.

So use them to cut through the leather!

When? And how? Where am I going to hide it? I’m naked!

The phone was still sitting there too.

If I could get to the phone and make a call…

When?

I don’t know when! But I’ve got to try.

He turned his head the other way, glancing up at the lectern as they passed it. He saw the access hatch in the base of the cross on the wall. The door was shut.

Probably locked again too. There’s nothing of use up there anyway.

He turned his head further around as Zoe walked him past the lectern. He could see the large King James Bible again.

Did I really read from that only two days ago? It seems like forever.

And then his eyes focussed on the key ring.

His key ring with all his keys.

And the
red
key.

Sitting on top of the Bible.

His key to freedom.

Damn!

So close, and yet so out of reach.

I’ve got to get that key!

He almost stopped, but knew he couldn’t. The pull of the leash dragged him onwards, past the lectern and staircase.

I have to get it!

She stopped by the bathroom, opened the door, switched on the light and turned to face him once again.

“Inside,” she said.

John walked past her and into the bathroom.

“You’d better use it,” she said, pointing to the toilet. “I don’t want you pissing on yourself like you did last night. I’m not cleaning that up again.”

John nodded and walked over to the bowl.

He didn’t think he needed to urinate, but once he stood there, he could feel the urge grow in his bladder. He didn’t want to wet himself again either.

He pointed his cock to the bowl.

He waited.

But found he couldn’t go.

He turned to face her.

She was leaning against the bathroom door, staring at him intently, the leash loose in her right hand.

“Do you mind?” he asked. “This is kind of a private moment.”

Zoe smiled, “After all this time and you’re
still
shy?”

She giggled as she stepped out of the bathroom and to the side of the door.

“I’m just outside the door,” she said, “if you need me to help you with anything.”

“Okay.”

Go!

John turned from the door and glanced around the bathroom. His eyes swept across the bath and shower, over the toilet and behind him to the sink and cabinet above it.

Anything! Look for anything!

He turned his head and stared at the window to his left. It was dark outside now. He couldn’t see anything.

His eyes continued up the window. It was different from the others in the church. It was a newer window that wasn’t made of stained-glass, but of a frosted glass that was harder to see through.

Makes sense, it’s a bathroom after all.

His eyes travelled up the window and stopped on the latch.

It was unlocked.

Now was his chance. He could open the window and scramble through before she could stop him.

What about the leash?

Cut it with something?

What?

Should’ve grabbed one of those knives!

Damn!

There’s got to be something here, something in the cabinet, something to cut through the leather!

Cut through the leather, open the window, and scramble out? All before she gets in here to stop me?

You can do it!

But what about Fox? Leave here now and she won’t be of any use. She won’t help me find him.

Shit!

I’ve got to get Fox.

I know.

So I can’t escape!

I know.

This game has got to stop!

“You almost done?” she called from outside the door.

“Ah, yeah,” he replied, looking down at his cock and willing it to work.

“Men are meant to be quicker than women, you know,” she continued.

He shook his cock with his handcuffed hands; the metal clanked loudly in the silence.

After what seemed like an eternity, the urine began to flow and poured loudly into the bowl.

Gotta wait it out, pal,
he told himself.
You’ve got to talk her around to your side. You
need
her help to get at Fox. Gotta talk her around to
my
game plan.

Maybe I could get him on my own.

Ahuh, yeah, sure, and where do you start? Huh?

Redlingford, I’d go to his farmhouse.

And if he’s not there?

I don’t know.

If he’s left and gone back home? What are you going to do?

I don’t know.

Good plan!

Shut up!

He shook his cock to remove the last few drops of piss, then turned to face the bathroom door.

She was standing there, smiling at him.

“Awesome,” she said. Her eyes were on his cock and her left hand was rubbing her groin. “There’s something about a man pissing. It’s so masculine and yet it’s coming from such a small roll of skin. Just hanging from your body. Out there in the open and so…
exposed
…so dangerously unprotected.”

She raised her eyes to his. She was still fingering herself, her fingers spreading wide the lips of her vagina, her middle finger rubbing furiously.

He looked back at her.

“Intense, huh?” she said to him.

“What is?”

“What we’re doing together. Just you and me.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

She stepped into the bathroom, the light making the diamond in her belly button sparkle. She pulled her left hand away from between her legs.

“Want to go to the edge?” she asked as she lifted her hand to her mouth and licked her fingers.

“Zoe…” John began.

She pouted, “Please? You can’t get me all horny and then not let me have any fun.”

“We’ve had fun.”

“I want more,” her hand returned to between her legs, massaging her folds.

“What about Ricky?” John asked.

Zoe sighed, “Help me and I’ll help you.” She took a step forward, closer to him. “Do this for me, Johnny, and I’ll do anything for you.”

John stared at her.

He had no other choice.

He nodded.

And Zoe smiled.

Forty

Smart move, pal. You should’ve taken your chance in the bathroom!

Keep quiet.

You should’ve escaped while you had the chance. That window was unlocked!

You told me not to. You said I had to get Fox!

Now look at the mess you’re in.

It’ll get better.

Really?

It has to.

It was dark. And silent.

Darker and more quiet than he had ever known.

And he cursed himself for going along with Zoe.

To the edge…

But I had no choice!

Ahuh, like you didn’t!

I didn’t!

You didn’t try to stop her.

He breathed heavily through his nose – it was the only proof he had that he was still alive.

His head and eyes were covered by blindfolds. He had a soft dark blindfold cutting across his nose and eyes and tied at the back of his head. He also had a black hood covering his whole head, which she had put over him and tied off around his throat, just above the dog collar. He could see nothing through the material.

The hood was hot and smelt of stagnant breath and air.

And all was dark.

His ears were blocked with earplugs, pushed all the way in so he couldn’t hear anything other than his own breathing and thoughts.

And his mouth and jaw were held open by a tight ball of wadding which made it impossible for him to close them. The cloth Zoe had shoved into his mouth was dipped in vinegar, making him want to vomit, but he controlled himself – he had to. He didn’t want to choke and die. If the wadding fell any further back into his mouth he could choke on it, and if vomit erupted from his stomach, it had nowhere to go.

The vinegar stung the wound in his lip, making it tingle and then numb.

His arms were spread above him, tied tightly by the wrists, and his legs were splayed below him, tied by the ankles. He was tilted at a slight angle, the middle of his back resting on cold hard wood and his head leaning on a small soft cushion. His groin burned with heat and his cock hung limp, pain still flowing along it and up his body.

“We don’t go back from here, Johnny,” she had said as she walked him back from the bathroom. “We’ll
never
be the same after this.”

He hadn’t known what she meant then.

How could I?

His eyes had been concentrating on the lectern as they passed it again. He had to make sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks. The red key and the key ring with his keys had to still be there on the Bible.

They were.

I’ve got to get to that key!

But how?

Zoe had dragged him to the middle of the church. She turned to face him and asked him a question.

John hadn’t been listening. He was concentrating on trying to work out a way to get to the red key.

The red key of freedom.

He was sure now that it unlocked the handcuffs. And he was willing to risk everything to find out if he was right.

Gotta get out of this.

Fox.

I have to get away from Zoe.

Fox! She’s the only one who can lead you to him!

“Well?” she asked as she tugged on his leash, pulling him forward. “Will you?”

John had no idea what she was talking about.

Gotta get that key somehow!

“Well?” she tugged again.

“Anything,” John replied, smiling at her. “For you, Zoe. I’ll do anything.”

She had smiled and walked towards him then. Her stiletto heels gave her enough height now that she was almost as tall as him. She kissed him hard on the lips.

“It’ll be worth it, Johnny,” she said. “As I always knew it would be.”

She let the extra coils of leash drop between them as she walked behind him, running her hand across the wounds on his chest, down to his hip and around up his back.

“Squat,” she ordered.

John stared at the charred and cold embers in the fireplace.

Dead.

It’ll be getting cold in here soon now night is here. She should build another fire.

The leash tugged violently at his collar, cutting through the skin of his throat. He started to topple backwards, but quickly regained his balance.

“I said,
squat
,” she said again, firmer now, from behind him.

John bent his knees and squatted on the ground.

The leash is long enough. What if I make a run for it and grab the keys on the lectern?

But it’s no use.

I can unlock the handcuffs before she reaches me!

But then she won’t help you find Fox! If you do
anything
wrong, she’ll refuse to help and then you’re screwed!

Aren’t I screwed now?

You’re screwed either way!

“They’ll screw you and then they’ll
screw
you,” that’s what Richard used to say.

Maybe he was right.

John wished he could discuss it all with Richard now. But Richard wasn’t there. He tried to call him into his mind, but he wouldn’t come.

He was concentrating too hard on the red key.

Too hard on escaping.

And then darkness engulfed him.

Before he realised what was happening, Zoe had placed a blindfold over his eyes and tied it off at the back of his head. He brought his hands up to his face, felt the material, and tried to pull it off. But he couldn’t, it was tied too tightly and his hands refused to work properly as the handcuffs bit into his wrists once more.

“Don’t struggle, Johnny,” she said from behind him. “You told me you’d do this.”

This is crazy!

He almost said it, but he held back.

“Do you trust me, Johnny?” she whispered by his ear.

He nodded.

“Really?”

He nodded again.

“You know I’d never hurt you, don’t you?”

Do I?

He nodded once more.

“You trust me enough to know I’d do anything for you?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

He felt her cheek by his. Her hair brushed against his ear and he felt her arms around him.

She hugged him tight.

“I know you do,” she said. “After all this time, it will be worth it.”

“I know,” he replied.

I’m crazy.

“I’m only doing what’s good for you.”

He nodded.

“For us.”

“Okay,” he whispered.

I’m going crazy!

Fear and anger wrestled for control inside his body.

“I like you naked,” she said then. “I like you squatting too.”

John didn’t reply.

“You deserve the best love a man can have,” she continued. “Leather is thicker than blood, Johnny. Don’t you forget that.”

He nodded yet again.

“I’m going to make you fly, my love,” she whispered as she stopped hugging him. “We’ll fly together. You and me. And you’ll never be the same.”

He remained in the squatting position as Zoe left him. He heard her footsteps recede along the floor, echoing into the darkness.

His thighs were starting to strain, and his legs began to shake. But he didn’t dare move.

Go now, run!

Run? Run where? I’m blindfolded!

It’s still worth the risk.

It’s not worth anything! I’m staying where I am!

Her heels clanged against the metal of the spiral staircase.

Play it cool and calm,
he told himself.
She thinks she loves you. Hell, maybe she does! She isn’t going to hurt you.

John almost chuckled as he thought back to those events now.

How wrong could I be?

He had no idea. Just as he had no idea how long he had been standing, tied the way he now was.

Hours? Minutes? Days?

His legs were beginning to go numb once more, and his arms ached. His body was sagging badly but there was little he could do about it. His arms and legs ached too much when he moved them. He hoped the stitches in his left arm would survive the strain.

He felt a breeze gently caress his body. His eyes moved from side to side, trying to see, even though he knew he couldn’t. The silence was total, apart from his rushing heartbeat.

You had your chance,
he thought.
You didn’t take it. Now look where you are!

He could feel the cold settle on him. He knew he was only going to get colder. He would freeze, he was sure of it.

And he cast his mind back once more. Watched as his mind replayed the events in every detail.

She had returned to him after opening the access hatch again. His ears painted the picture that his eyes couldn’t see.

“Love doesn’t get any more pure than this, Johnny,” she said. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long now. I’m glad we finally have the chance.”

There were other sounds he couldn’t work out, strange metallic noises and plastic rustling.

“Trust me, my love, no matter what happens. You have to learn to trust me.”

They were the last words he heard her speak.

She had walked to his side, placed one hand on his head, and used the other to push the soft earplug into his ear.

John didn’t know what was happening, but as the plug expanded in his ear and his hearing disappeared from his left side, he knew what was to come.

She moved around his body, running a hand across his neck as she did so. He listened intently with his right ear, grabbing every sound he could before she inserted another plug.

She pushed it in.

And there was total silence.

She’s gone mad!

Don’t lose it now. She said she’d help you if you did this. Don’t ruin your best chance!

He felt her fingers on his face.

Now that his sight and hearing were gone, her touch became so important to him. Her soft hands moved lightly across his cheeks and stopped at his mouth.

Her fingers opened his lips, touched his gums and teeth. And pried open his jaw.

He thought about resisting, but knew it was useless.

Play the game…

He opened his mouth.

And she pushed the gag inside.

Its foul vinegar taste stung his tongue and the inside of his mouth. Saliva poured down the back of his throat, trying to remove the taste, but it was too overpowering.

He wanted to resist, wanted to stop her, but slowly he found his resolve crumbling. He was squatting in the church, handcuffed and leashed like a dog, but he wasn’t able to resist her.

She’s won,
he thought.
I can’t stop her now.

Then the hood was placed over his head.

His submission was complete.

She’s won,
he thought again.

It made no difference to his eyesight, he couldn’t see anything anyway, but with the material over his whole face, he could now feel his breathing. She tied the hood tightly around his neck, and his breathing soon made the hood hot and claustrophobic.

Totally cut off.

He could see and hear nothing.

He couldn’t talk.

Only the floorboards under his feet kept him in touch with the outside world.

He was too stunned to think straight. His anger had vanished. So had his will to escape.

He squatted, empty and numb. Not even the pain affected him now.

Nothing…

His leash was tugged upwards. He unbalanced slightly as he stood up. But from out of nowhere, her soft hand touched his chest and helped him straighten.

She’s in front of me,
he thought.

The leash was tugged again. He walked forward slowly, not wanting to stumble into anything.

She pulled to the right and he took some steps in that direction. Then she tugged on the leash to stop him and they stood still for a moment or two. John’s ears reached out, trying hard to pick up any sound. But he heard nothing other than his breathing.