Mastim's Curse

Chapter 18

A large man with red eyes is squeezing my head, trying to crush it. I try to stop him but can't. So instead, I scream. The sound of my screams wakes me with a start, and I realize there's no one with me. It was a dream. The pain in my head is real enough though, and as I rub my hand over the side of my head, I discover dried blood and a large lump. My neck hurts a lot too, where... where... the tape was. It all comes rushing back to me... the kidnapping... the airplane. I try to cling to my disjointed wits like a woman being swept down river holds onto whatever she can to stay afloat. Around me in the dim light is a room like no other that I've seen before. The bed sheets I lie on are snow white but the walls and ceiling are black as tar. What's really strange is that the walls are adorned with a multitude of chains, whips, and other tools of pain and restraint. What a sight to wake up too.

There's a door at the far end of the room. I waste no time getting up and staggering to it. Not surprisingly, it and the little panel it has in the middle are both locked. With my back to the door, I try to get my bearings. I'm locked in but not bound in any way. That's good, I guess, considering how many chains and ropes there are in this room.

There sure are a lot of mirrors on the walls, way more than seem necessary. That and the large selection of sex toys on a table near the bed start to tell a story. A story that I'm not sure I want to be a part of. There are even iron rings along the headboard and floorboard of the bed perfect for tying someone down with. Holy shit! I'm in a sex den.

There's even a tall, wooden X next to the bed that has straps on it for fastening a person's arms and legs to it. I don't understand. If they're going to use and abuse me, why am I not tied down? Whatever the reason, that was a huge mistake, because now I'm going to kill anyone that comes through that door. The dark power that was out of reach before comes easily to me now. Play time is over.

There's a lot of stuff in here. There's got to be something I can use as a weapon. The chains are well fastened in place, so they're no help. I don't see anything that would make a good club. Well, there is a riding crop, but... I keep looking.

The furniture is all bolted down including the large monitor mounted on the wall. It defies the notion of this being a prison cell as it faces a red leather sofa and chairs complete with pink throw pillows. Like, as if they expect me to relax and watch a movie. There's also a few dressers and cabinets around the room, but they seem to have lost my luggage so I don't have much use for them. Out of curiosity, I open one of the drawers and find athletic clothes and shoes that look to be about my size. Hummmm... They must expect me to be here for a while. I better check everything to see what else they left for me.

There's even a small kitchen area stocked with plenty of food and drinks, including beer in the fridge. The flatware is all plastic. That would have been too easy. At least I'm not going to die of starvation. My mouth is dry as sand so I grab a sports drink and also down two painkillers from the medical supplies to take the edge off my splitting headache. Off to one side is a cabinet filled with medical supplies, good to have in a sex dungeon, I suppose. What I find in one of the dressers completely surprises me... drugs. I can't believe they put drugs in here. Wow... What kind of place is this? They're even labeled... pain killers, Ecstasy, marijuana, and cocaine. This is crazy. They've even got different cigarettes and cigars. I open a brand I like and light one up. The smoke curls out of my mouth as I take a moment to consider my situation.

I'm being held captive in what looks like a serious wild party room. They haven't hurt me, much. And they didn't tie me down even though the rooms full of restraints. This place wouldn't be so bad if it weren't a prison.

***

Later we'll be handing Aleale's brother the keys to his new Falcon, but for now, we watch as Aleale leaves her trailer and starts toward us. Jaidee and Nicole are all bubbly and I have to admit, this is pretty exciting. Well, Jaidee is bubbly. Nicole's excitement has a dark edge to it. She needs to learn better control. Give her a few more years and she'll learn. Anyway, I'm glad they're here for this. I've finally hit the big time with my business. Things are really going to take off after this. I should get Nicole to help out more in the shop on weekends when she doesn't have class. Then, when she graduates, maybe she can work full time with me. My already wide smile broadens at the thought.

Julia introduces us to Aleale but I'm distracted by a masked man who tosses something about the size of a softball under a police car next to Aleale's trailer, and then runs run off. The officer, busy chatting with one of the coliseum security people, doesn't notice. I turn to one of the nearby guards to tell him but the car explodes in a ball of flames before the words come out of my mouth.

Instinctively, I toss Jaidee down to the ground and cover her with my body as parts of the car rain down around us. Then the shooting starts. Boiling rivers of fire burn though my veins as the most basic of primal urges take over me. Nicole is protecting Aleale the way I am Jaidee while masked men with guns appear. The obvious threat to my family fills me with a powerful rage and I crouch, ready to pounce at anyone that dares come near us.

Meanwhile, Nicole's picked up a gun from a fallen guard and is blasting away with it like a dark valkyrie. The look of her face isn't one of fear, it's one of lust. She's enjoying this. The sight of her homicidal rampage stuns me for a moment until I see a guy running up between cars, using them for cover from Nicole's gunfire. I spring up and slip to the side to get behind him. Luckily, his attention is on Nicole and Aleale. He doesn't take notice of me until my hands grip him. Years of working on cars have made my hands strong and hard. That and the dark power inherited from my family give me the strength to lift him clean over my head and slam him head first into the concrete, cracking his skull wide open.

Shots pucker the car next to me and I'm forced to duck for cover. When I come up, Nicole and Aleale are gone and a man is standing in their place reloading is gun. I blame him for their disappearance and charge him in a blind rage taking him to the pavement hard. My fists pound him like jackhammers until his face and chest turn to jelly. It's not until Jaidee's voice calms me, do I stop.

The chaos is settling down around us as I rise from the bloody mess that was once a man and turn to Jaidee. Her face is a tangled mess of concern and fear. "Where's Nicole?"

"She ran inside after Aleale," she stammers.

My mind becomes focused on one task... find Nicole. I take off running for the entrance and see a commotion taking place there. Two policemen are pointing guns at a masked man while two other masked men lay sprawled on the ground off to one side. As I approach, the younger of the two goes inside while the other policeman commands the man to lie on the ground with his hands on his head.

The policeman sees me running toward him and swings his gun to point at me. "Hold it right there," he shouts.

I grudgingly stop. "I need to find my daughter," I yell, fuming mad that he's in my way. "She just went inside a few minutes ago."

"Get on the ground with your hands on your head," he orders.

The fact that I'm covered with blood isn't helping. "You don't understand. My daughter is with Aleale."

He looks like he's about to shoot me. "Get down now!" he shouts.

God damn asshole is going to shoot me for trying to find my daughter. Behind me Jaidee calls out, "Baby, do what he says. It'll be better for everyone." The darkness wants me to beat down this asshole and go find Nicole, but there's just enough sense in me not to. So, as much as it pains me, I get down on the ground like he wants. He cuffs the other man and peels off his mask to reveal a middle aged man with shoulder length red hair. That guy sure looks familiar. It takes a moment, but then I remember him. He was at the swinger cub Jaidee and I went to. He was the guy talking to those young Latino girls at the bar.

When the cop's done searching the ginger, he cuffs me too while I swear under my breath. Then I lay there forever while they take their fucking time. At first, they don't let Jaidee near me, but eventually they decide I'm not one of the bad guys and un-cuff me. After that it takes hours for the police to figure out what happened and only then do they let me go freely. I'm devastated and outraged to find out that while I was lying handcuffed on the concrete, Aleale and a young girl meeting the description of my daughter were seen being forced into cars after a police officer was killed by the same men that took them. I spend the next twenty minutes yelling at every official I can find about how they prevented me from saving my daughter and how they fucked this up royally and let the kidnappers get away. When I tell them about the man from the club, they only added the information to the hundreds of facts they've got to sort though. The whole thing is maddening. I've never felt so helpless. I'm about to explode with anger and frustration, so I do the only thing I can think of, I decide to go back to the sex club to see if anyone knows the red-haired man.