It was pitch black.
Had the power gone out? What was the time? Lynn sleepily tried reaching for her phone on the nightstand.
Her eyes flew open. She couldn't move. And she was naked.
With a panicked scream she wrenched against her restraints. Her wrists and ankles were bound and spread into an X-shape. She couldn't budge her bindings at all. All she could do was writhe and twist her hips and shoulders. She futilely tried to pull her slender wrists free.
Oh god oh god oh god this isn't happening!
She quickly wore herself out, and lay there helplessly, mind racing. She must have been kidnapped. How? When? The "why" was obvious, and they had surely heard her screams. She dreaded their arrival.
Lynn's eyes blinked open. Had she fallen asleep? It was still completely dark, and she was still naked and restrained. So she wasn't having a nightmare. With renewed fear, she started weakly struggling again.
To her surprise, her encased wrists and ankles came free with little effort. Immediately she curled into the foetal position, trying to preserve some sense of modesty. It felt good to move again. But she couldn't have broken her restraints loose. Her captors must have set her free. Why?
She ran her fingers over one of her wrist-bindings. It felt like solid smooth metal with a softer inner lining. Like a steel-encased medical cast or something. At least it didn't chafe or itch. But she could find no seams, bolts, hooks, latches, markings, tethers, moorings, nothing. It was as if the metal had been cast or welded right on to her wrist. How was that possible? How had she been restrained earlier? Her other bindings felt identical, and none would budge.
Lynn didn't like these metal things at all. At least they weren't very bulky, and their inner lining was almost comfortable. She tried to assess her surroundings. She saw nothing, heard nothing. The air was slightly cool, and smelled sterile like a hospital. Her bed was comfortable, but there was no pillow, sheets, blanket, head or footboard. Again, she wondered how her bindings had been anchored.
She reluctantly got off the bed. Fumbling about blindly was better than just waiting. The floor felt like cold metal, but it almost immediately warmed to her bare feet. She reached blindly under the bed. She briefly thought of childhood monsters under the bed, but there was nothing. The bed didn't even have legs!
Alarmed she backed away. She did a walk around the bed, waving her hands carefully around. No walls, no nothing. The bed must be in the center of the room. But what was holding it up? Maybe it had a single central support column she couldn't reach.
Lynn struck out in a random direction, stepping carefully. She couldn't even hear her own footsteps, so she counted. Ten steps later, nothing. She took another ten steps. No sight, no sound, no touch, nothing. Her anxiety rose, and she quickly turned and headed back to the bed.
Nothing. She waved her hands around, walked in a spiral. Tears sprang to her eyes. The strange yet comfortable bed, the only point of reference in this sea of choking darkness, was gone. She sank to her knees in despair. Her captors had to be toying with her. Part of her wished they would just come and get on with it.
No. Lynn rose to her feet. Her parents didn't raise a quitter. She strode off into the darkness again, picking up the pace. Then she spotted something red and blurry in the distance.
She couldn't make it out at first. She blinked several times impatiently, before her eyes regained focus. It was a red-lit sign, in both English and Mandarin: EXIT
This had to be a trap! But what choice did she have? Lynn strode fourth quickly, almost to the point of a blind run. But the sign didn't seem to be getting any closer. How big was this place? It must be the size of a warehouse or airport!
Suddenly she was out of breath. Her limbs felt strained. She might have gained a few pounds since starting college, but she had also taken up yoga a few months ago. So she should be in better shape than this. She took deep breaths, and pressed on.
Lynn's feet scraped against the floor, and she almost fell. She trudged on, but her arms and legs felt like lead. She tried shaking her arms - what the hell? She tried lifting her foot. She wasn't imagining, her restraints were getting heavier!
She again futilely tried to claw them off. She struggled ahead, counting steps again. Another ten, and she had to stop. She was sweaty and panting. Her arms hung uselessly by her sides, her legs felt like they were on fire. She tried to push on, but two shuffling steps was all she could muster. And that fucking sign still didn't look any closer!
Her wrist-bands kept getting heavier. She sagged down to her haunches, palms pressed to the ground. For a frightening moment, she thought the increasing weight would crush her hands. But the oppressive weight was suddenly gone, and her bindings began to hum.
Before Lynn could think or catch her breath, some unseen powerful force yanked her wrist-bands forward. She had no strength to resist or stand, and collapsed face-down on the cold metal floor. Her bands kept pulling until her body was stretched slightly, then clamped together and lowered to the floor.
Several things happened at once. New restraints coiled tight around her waist and forearms. Her ankle-restraints suddenly wrenched her legs wide open. Even more restraints coiled around her legs, just below the knees. And all her restraints somehow locked to the floor.
Lynn cried into the darkness, "Why are you doing this! Please let me go!"
Her voice was strangely muted. And there was no response. She quietly began to sob.
"Oh!" Lynn gasped. Something had lightly brushed her right foot. Reflexively she tried to scrunch up. But she couldn't, because all her toes were restrained. She realized that the floor under her feet had dropped off, leaving her feet hanging off the edge and her toes bound to the side. When did that happen?
