Dangerous by Default

14. The talk

When Caine roused awake, everything was dark. His face pressed against a stiff fabric that was coarse and musty like the handspun silk of his grandmother's pillows at Sabbathday Lake. He was too weak to lift his head, and he felt alarmed. What am I doing here? He asked himself, and his mind slipped from one explanation to another. Did I oversleep the morning bell? He groaned at the thought of his grandmother, her pruning mouth upturned in disapproval as she waited for him at the breakfast table with the other Brothers and Sisters. She would rap his butt, and he could already feel the sting of the welts.

He writhed his arms free from his sides and tried to push himself over but his body was too heavy, and his arms too weak. He felt as though all of his strength had leaked out, his muscles drained. He could hear music playing in the other room. It sounded like jazz.

That was strange. Music was strictly forbidden in the mornings. Not until you finish your chores and labor, he could hear his Grandmother chastising. Jeez, oversleeping and listening to music. He was in for it.

He rubbed the bed spread with the backs of his hands and he realised it was different - no, this wasn't his grandmother's spun silk, it was cheap and mass produced. The realization triggered a torrential swell of memory, where he was and what had happened to him came flooding back. I'm still in Joseph's apartment.

The shock pricked his muscles awake, just enough that he could pull his body upright. He could feel the weight of his limbs lifting, his returning strength also making him feel lighter. An amber glow coming from the living room cast the hallway in a dim light. From the bed he could see just the outline of pale legs lying on the carpet. Now it's my turn to be brave, he thought as he pulled himself forward. His heart pounded. If things went as planned, I'm perfectly safe. He suddenly realized he was nude, and that just before passing out he was still very much clothed. A flash of alarm made him reach to touch his anus, and was relieved that it felt dry. He was one of the lucky ones. Time to discover the state of the universe.

With no clue of where his clothes may have been, Caine didn't bother dressing himself. He strode lethargically into the hallway, his eyes fixed on the pale legs on the floor, which he quickly realized belonged to Joseph. He was unconscious, lying with his face scrunched against the white carpet. Caine bent down closer to the body and checked his vitals. Alive. A small dart lay on the floor next to Joseph, a garnet jewel of blood glistening on its tip.

Caine spun around rapidly at the sound of footsteps. The woman he saw was tall, her long pink locks tumbling over her voluptuous body. She wore a latex bodysuit, purposely unzipped down her long slender torso. The soft light pouring from the fireplace licked her alabaster body with flecks of bronze as she dropped the grey felt hat to the ground.

"Hey Gorg," Caine said. "You look like trouble."

"More than you know. Where do I even begin?" Mina replied, beaming with pride.

"Well... how bout with how you feel," Caine said, "Right now?

"Mmmm, fucking invincible." Mina said as she bit her lip.

"If only you'd seen me, Bubba. As soon as you left, this dweeb tried to swoop in on me. Gave him the old slip, but the fucker almost made me late! When I finally got here, I saw him sitting on your back. Naked. Every urge in my body told me to come charging in right then and there."

"Woah, so he was.." Caine didn't want to think about how close he had been to becoming another one of Joseph's victims.

"He was just sitting there, gloating and admiring your body. I mean. I can't blame him, but my heart was pounding, and I felt so...wild. But I took a deep breath. Remembered the costume I had put on. Then it came to me. It was just like jumping out of the airplane - I felt the danger, and once I accepted it, all I had to do was freefall."