Release In The Dark (DARK erotic romance series) (6 page)

We file down the steps in
silence and stand with the other girls as we hurriedly pull on our
tank tops and shorts. I watch the other girls, including Pam and
Kylee, go through their poses almost effortlessly. They must have
done this countless times. They look almost bored doing it.

Finally, all the girls have
finished. The Warden whips out her tablet and checks something.
Looking up, she announces, “It looks like you are having the
Water Treatment tonight.”

“
Water Treatment?” I
mumble. “What the hell is that? I don't like it already.”

“
None of us do,”
Kara mutters at my side.

I turn to her in surprise,
whispering, “What is the Water Treatment?”

“
That's the theme for
tonight. The props and entertainment for the evening go according to
the themes. Sometimes it's Fire Works, where we have to walk across
red hot coals and our costumes will be set alight on stage, and the
ashes will fall off our bodies. Sometimes it's Captives in Chains,
and we'll be led onto the stage in shackles and blindfolds. You get
the idea.”

“
So—what do we have
to do?” I ask with trepidation.

“
You have to hold your
breath and keep your eyes open underwater for the longest time. It's
torture.”

“
Oh.” I gulp. “And
why...”

I clamp my mouth shut in a hurry
as the Warden walks past. Kara looks down and warns me against
speaking further with a quick shake of her head.

The Warden goes to the side of
the stage and types a command into the screen mounted on a stand. A
series of clicks and beeps are heard and my jaw drops when I see a
gigantic column filled with water rise through that round hole in the
middle of the stage. The humongous column keeps rising, and I watch
some small bubbles rush to the top of the column and disappear. A
harness attached to a metal wire starts to descend from the ceiling,
knocking lightly against the towering glass column.

The Warden stands on the stage
and holds the swaying harness. Her eyes narrow as she scans the
crowd of us standing in front of the stage. “You!” She
points her finger in my direction.

I start and look behind me. The
two girls behind me stare back at me with round eyes. Every head is
turned in my direction.

The Warden is pointing—at
me.

Oh shit.

The Warden always picks on
the new girl.

I look up at the Warden. Her
finger is pointing straight at me, her eyes narrowed. “Miss
Zen,” she says in a mocking tone. “Would you care to
join me on the stage? Now.”

I try to swallow but my throat
feels too tight, too dry. I walk forward with leaden steps.

“
Take them off.”
The Warden jerks her head at my clothes.

I obey with a gulp.

With quick movements, she
fastens the harness around my naked body and tugs the wire. She taps
me on the shoulder. “When you're inside, you have to keep your
eyes open, and your mouth closed.”

“
Inside?” I sputter.

“
You'll be lowered into
the glass column and fully submerged in the water. The top of the
column will be sealed once you are inside.”

I gawk at her in shock.
You
are trying to drown me!

“
H-how long will I be
inside?” I start to stutter.

Until I pass out and drown?
No, I can't die now. I won't! I will not let you kill me!

I start to struggle as the
Warden gives the wire a violent jerk. With a soft whir, the wire
begins to reel me upwards. My feet lift off the stage floor and I
let out a cry of horror and panic.

The Warden looks up at me with a
frown. “Stop struggling, Ana. You just have to stay in the
water long enough...”

“
How long?” I
shriek, my legs kicking wildly.

I am hovering above her, and
rising rapidly. I can see the open top of the column and hear the
water sloshing gently inside.

“
Long enough for your
costume to dissolve,” she answers flatly.

I have no idea what the Warden
has just said. Her words make no sense to me. Costume? What
costume? All I know is that I am being hauled upwards by a metal
wire to hover dangerously over the enormous glass vat of water.

I am aware that I could well be
staring down at my coffin, a cold, rippling, watery coffin. I shake
my head hard. No, I have to survive this. I can do this.

As the wire starts lowering me
into the towering column of water, I start shivering uncontrollably
as my heart rate and breathing become more frantic and erratic. I
start to panic as my feet touch the cold water. Letting out a yelp,
I twist and struggle in the harness, clawing crazily to free myself.
This is madness. This is murder!

But the Warden only frowns at
me, her arms folded across her chest. She doesn't move a muscle. No
one moves forward to try to help me. The rest of the girls only
stare up at me with wide eyes. I catch sight of Kara and Pam, and I
see their lips moving as if they are trying to mouth some words to
me. But that is all they do. Silently encourage me with words I
cannot hear. They don't step forward to help me. No one does.

The water is already at my
shoulders. I feel the water level creeping up my neck. It rises
past my chin and I tilt my head up, breathing in quick, panicked
breaths. This is my last chance. I have to suck in as much air into
my lungs as possible before I am fully submerged.

I open my mouth and gulp in all
the air that is needed to keep me alive—or not. Instinctively
I squeeze my eyes shut as the water laps up over my forehead. Even
after the water closes over my head, I am still being lowered deeper
into the column of water. The wire continues pushing me downwards
until my feet touches the bottom of the tall water column.

The harness loosens and fall
away from my body. I open my eyes to see the harness being reeled
rapidly upwards. With the air in my lungs, I start to float upwards.
A few air bubbles escape from my nose, and I stare after them in a
kind of horrified fascination. I am literally seeing my life seep
out of me, bubble by bubble. I wonder if each bubble contains
fragments of my memories. Maybe the bigger bubbles contain my
unhappy memories, since there are more of those. The teeny, tiny
bubbles would hold my happy memories, the precious memories I have of
my mother, and of Jaxon.

I kick upwards, towards the top
of the column. The bubbles reach the top first. One by one, they
pop and vanish into thin air as they break the surface.

I have to follow those bubbles.
If I can reach the top, I can break the surface of the water and get
more air.

I kick harder.

Almost there.

Through the blurry water, I can
see the wire dangling above me, just out of my reach.

I stretch out my hand...

Almost...there!

My palms smash against a hard,
transparent surface. No, this cannot be. Water can't be hard!

I pound frenziedly against the
solid surface, my terror spiking. The top of the column has been
sealed shut.

There is no way out. No air.
Just water, everywhere.

No! No! Let me out!

Precious air bubbles leak from
my nose and mouth. There is less and less air left in my lungs. I
begin to sink a little and I place the flat of my palms against the
curved glass surface of the column, pushing against the seal until my
arms ache, desperately trying to find a way out.

I press my face against the
curved glass wall, and glimpse a hazy sea of faces staring up at me.
To them, I must look like an underwater exhibit thrashing around in a
cylindrical, glass enclosure.

My lungs are burning and I can
feel my eyes and nose smarting. My whole head feels like it is about
to explode. My hands are trembling violently against the glass. I
hammer the glass with my fists, resisting the urge to scream.
Screaming would be useless and stupid. No one can hear me. And
water would flood my lungs the moment I open my mouth.

I place my hands flat against
the glass and take in the watery scene before me with a surreal sense
of detachment. I see the round, brightly lit stage, the shielded
booths with their velvet couches and cushions for the audience, the
upturned faces of the girls, the black military uniform of the
Warden, the red lanterns hanging from the ceiling. What will this
place look like at night, when the whole hall if filled with leering,
lustful customers? With all the lanterns lit, and this rippling
column glowing like a lava lamp with a naked girl undulating within
its watery depths, I imagine the effect would be hypnotic, perhaps
even erotic, in a sick, morbid way.

I blink repeatedly as my vision
wavers. I don't think I can't hold on for much longer. My mind is
fading, losing control over my body. Any instant now, instinct would
take over. Against my will, my body would forcibly try to draw
breath to survive. And water would gush into my mouth and nose, and
I would drown, slowly, horribly.

Black spots flash before my
eyes, looming larger and darker. Soon everything would be black. I
have to fight, fight my own body, fight the instinct to breathe.

I can't feel or think at all.
Death seems so close. My nails slide down the curved glass wall, and
my eyes close but still I lock my jaws, clenching my mouth shut,
refusing to draw the breath I so desperately need.

I won't give up.

I won't breathe.

I have to hold on.

I...can't...hold...on...

My fists unfurl and my eyes fly
wide open as every muscle, every nerve, every cell in my body screams
for air. I have to fight my own body, fight my body's instinct to
breathe.

I remember my training with
Irin, in the underground cell. During the sessions when she held my
head underwater, I had held on for far longer than I had thought
possible—by not thinking about my present situation. I had
thought about the times that I had been truly happy, about the people
who had loved me and cherished me. I recalled my happy memories with
my mother, and I thought about Jaxon.

Jaxon.

The watery blur before my eyes
shimmers and I see myself with Jaxon. My first time with him. With
a man.

I feel my body heat up despite
the chilly water all around me. Jaxon had been a wonderful lover,
tender and gentle and loving. I had felt pleasure, immense, intense,
unbelievable pleasure, but I had also felt loved. I am glad that he
was the one I gave my virginity to. He is the man I want. The one I
love.

But will I ever see him again?

I start to tremble, shattering
the vision before my eyes. My lungs are about to explode, my entire
body straining for air. Black spots loom in front of me, crowding
into my fading vision.

I don't want to, but I have
to—breathe.

The blackness presses against my
eyelids, pulsing blood red as fragments of thoughts stab through my
mind.

Drowning.....

Dying......

Can't...

Fight!

The command to fight, to live,
overrides my instinct and my panic. That powerful, fierce voice in
my head sounds so much like Jaxon's voice. I cling on to this
lifeline, this sudden infusion of resolve and strength, and force my
eyes open.

But I can see nothing. Nothing
but deepening, shifting shades of gray.

My body can hold out no longer.
My mind struggles for a while longer, but loses the fight in the end.

Against my will, I open my mouth
and start to swallow greedily. The water that surges into my nose
and mouth feels like fire, torturing and scorching, burning me alive
from the inside. I choke and splutter, struggling wildly, but still
I keep swallowing and gasping, filling myself with more of that
deadly water.

I can feel my body spasm
painfully, as I keep gasping and gulping more and more water. Nobody
is forcing me to take in the water. My body is doing it all on its
own. The urge and need to breathe, the desperate hunger and instinct
to survive—this very instinct is ironically, the very thing
hastening my death.

I am sinking lower and lower,
helpless to save myself. I am only vaguely aware that something hard
and cold is gripping my body. Blindly, I try to twist free. I
scream, and this time the searing pain and darkness envelops me
completely. I can't stop screaming soundlessly, knowing that I am
drowning myself with my screams.

The crushing, agonizing darkness
is shattered by a sudden light. Icy chill invades my body, and the
silence is replaced by muted rasping and splashing.

I can feel my body shaking and
convulsing violently. Through a crack in my eyelid, I see metal
clamps gripping my body, as I am fished out of the column. The wire
reels furiously and I can feel myself being lowered onto the stage.
Hands start rolling me onto my side, and water spurts from every
orifice in my body as I heave violently. Someone is hammering me on
the back, while yelling, “Breathe, Ana, breathe!”