Collars and Cuffs Pt. 02

Jeranimo was trapped in a nightmare of his worst fears, all the cases where people had died, how and why he had failed them. The visions were replaying inside his mind over and over. Not things that he had actually witnessed but the logical conclusions his deductions had drawn from the facts of each case. The worst one was all the missing kids and their crying pleading parents begging him to find them. Seeing his worst fears of what happened to those kids made him feel guiltier than he thought was possible.

All of a sudden a bright light appeared in the middle of this septic vision. It became a line that spread horizontally and erased the terror from his perception. The light became all consuming and the darkness faded away. He began to be aware of a four walled white room with a flat metal table, two chairs and no doors that he could see. He began probing the walls with his fingers and knocking, looking for any weak spots. He tried to pick up a chair and throw it. It was as much a part of the room as the walls. To his dismay, so was the table. He tried to think of how he had gotten into this situation but the last thing he could remember was Rosie climaxing in his arms. Maybe they had been found on the highway by Carbine. Hauled off to some black site in Nowhere. As the worst scenarios he could think of were spinning throughout his noggin, he heard a voice in the silence that was not his own.

"I'm sorry Sir," Rosie said appearing naked in the room, "Butler created a toxicity side effect to piggyback on my orgasm delay program. It caused some havoc with your mental and physical systems but I have done my best to counter your body's physical needs."

"Okay great...but can you tell me where the fuck we are right now?" he said.

"Umm...how best to describe it," she said. Instantly, she was wearing a lab coat, glasses and a ponytail before she began her tirade. "Well...we are inside of your mind. I formed a bridge to save you from your meltdown and built this room around your psyche to stem off the bad scenes. What you were seeing could be described as a bad acid trip but much worse. A typical hallucinogenic experience has many phases but one that all pass through is ego death. Wherein your psyche is broken down and dissolved to nothing which allows you to be a part of the one which is all and nothing. When I climaxed you were exposed to a chemical much more potent than I had thought was possible. It caused your body to react and your mind to shut down. I put these walls up to help you learn to control your mindscape. Since we are in your mind I have limited functionality but it was enough to stop the haemorrhaging."

"So how do I get out of here?" he said.

"You can't go back to your body until things calm down some more up there. I am monitoring the situation internally and will let you know when your body is back to normal. For the time being, we can just explore your mindscape together. Who knows? It could be fun. You just have to imagine it to be real. You have to stay focused on what it is you want. When your mind wavers so does the terrain or clothes. If you would prefer them to being...naked," she said with a coy smile and an appraising look giving Jeranimo the old up and down.

He concentrated and was back in his street clothes. She sighed and said, "Aww too bad. I liked seeing you exposed." The hunger in her eyes said more than her mouth ever could. "Now close your eyes Sir and think of a stone garden. It has statues and groves of cherry blossoms as far as you can see. Don't think of what is beyond the garden, your mind will fill in any blank spots," she instructed him.

"How do you know all this?," he said.

She blushed and replied, "Alanna showed me the inner workings of her mind and taught me the basics. Since cons cannot dream, we have no frame of reference for your internal world. She showed me the ropes," again blushing, "and the rest I just picked up with other interactions I have had over the years. It looks like things are taking shape, are you ready to open your eyes now?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's get this show on the road," he said as he opened his eyes and beheld his own inner self. It was incredibly barren with the cherry blossoms in a state of decay. It was more like a graveyard than a garden he thought. Instantly, the scene became filled with tombstones. The names of people he had lost over the years decorating the markers. He could make out a huge mausoleum in the center.

"Hmm, this is different," Rosie said. "I guess you just can't avoid the darker things Jeranimo. I don't know what we will find but I will go with you." She moved up next to him and wrapped her fingers with his. She gave him her best smile, letting him know she thought everything was going to be okay.

He looked at her and smiled back. He caught some movement above and behind her. It was the sky but it was wrong. "What the hell is going on up there?" he said aloud and gazed in wonder at the kaleidoscopic, fractalized madness spinning and twirling above him.

"Oh don't worry about that. The sky here reflects your body's current state. Think of it like fire alarms you can see. When the storm passes we will be safe to go back into our bodies. Until then, let's just walk a bit," she said. She was out of the lab coat and into a tight pair of jeans with a crop top while barefoot. Curiously, he noticed that she left healthy grass after every step. The color was quickly consumed by the gray around it though,

The first statue in this necropolis that they came across was of a woman. She was naked and kneeling, prostrating herself with her hands palms up and flat against her knees. She was wearing a collar and a blindfold. She was weeping but had a huge smile on her face. They were tears of joy mixed with pain.

"I think someone likes to get kinky?" Rosie said as she huskily chuckled. "I'm not going to judge you for your darkest desires Jeranimo, but they will give me insights in how to better be of service to you...Sir." She laughed again as they continued down the paths of his labyrinthian mind.

When they had finally arrived at the center, Jeranimo felt thoroughly embarrassed and exposed. They had somehow managed to only see his carnal desires. Rosie had gotten a big kick out of most of them. The only one that upset her was Jeranimo seeing himself with a child. That was the one thing she could never give him. She did her best to hide her bitter disappointment at that realization.

She was still thinking about it as they crossed the threshold into the center. "Jeranimo, how much do you know about archetypes?"

"Arch what?" he said.

"Shit. Well you are about to get a crash course on the shadow. It is a primal trixter, usually trying to teach you a lesson. The knowledge always comes with a price tag of personal pain. If you have had some deep trauma, it can sometimes manifest itself within the shadow. I think we will be okay though. I haven't seen any animals yet and we only need to be worried about crows," she tried to explain quickly.

The sound of flapping wings in the distance drew her eye to the south and she saw them. Like a black cloud they descended into the cemetery and landed on every tombstone. It was a whole murder of crows in attendance. She had never seen so many before and she knew they saw her. They watched her with black, merciless eyes.

Jeranimo muttered "What the fuck?" and it was enough to startle them back into the air. Once airborne some began circling in a bizarre pattern that seemed to spin both clockwise and counter. It was hard to look at for long. Something more disturbing caught their eye regardless. Some of the crows grouped together on the limbs of a bare apple tree. It had not borne fruit for some time. As they coalesced, they formed a dense shade that seemed to stretch over the entrance to the mausoleum. The shadow seemed to flicker and bend in a place without any light except the rampaging sky. It looked to be human sized and had no discernible features. It slipped inside, going deeper into the crypt.

"Okay...let's go somewhere else," Rosie said quickly.

"No, I am going to see where this leads," he responded.

"You won't like what we find down there," she said wisely. "It might help you in some fashion though. Facing your fears and all that," she replied.

"I'm not afraid of the dark," he said simply.

She laughed, "I am. Will you hold me and keep me safe?" she said with actual alarm in her voice. He wrapped his hand in hers and headed for the entrance.

They stayed close as they went down the marble steps into the catacombs beneath the graveyard. It was colder down there and with no natural light, Jeranimo found himself holding a flashlight that he quickly switched on. He directed it in front of them and they slowly walked deeper into the black.

The steps eventually lead to a large ornate chamber with a dais in the middle. It was cornered with four blood red candelabras. The wicks were lit and lightly flickered as they approached. As they descended, the floor became sandstone and more candelabras alighted. These illuminated the scenery while the scent of lavender permeated the air.

The walls, the dais, even the ceiling were covered in erotic scenery. Much like the temple of Khajuraho in India. Every surface displayed acts of love making in every coupling imaginable. All of the figures were actively engaged and in states of bliss. Upon closer inspection, Rosie noticed it wasn't just random people but rather Jeranimo and Allana's sculpted forms writhing in congress. She blushed again with that realization. In the center of the room was an ornate sarcophagus with different images of the same woman in ecstatic bliss. It was clearly Allan's face.

He spoke aloud, either for her or himself he wasn't sure, "Allana was the daughter of a poor immigrant family from India. She grew up gifted...found herself at MIT. She was top of her class...could have written her own ticket anywhere. She decided to get into a DARPA program involving Artificial Intelligence. She was convinced that the military was a decade ahead of any civilian program. Lucky for me because that was where we met," he said.

"I had never had a family because I was orphaned as a kid. So, when we got married we went to her family's home in India, near Khajuraho. The ceremony was more than I expected but her family was terrific. That first night together...we spent it exploring the temple grounds. We performed the Maithuna ritual and did not rest until well after dawn," he said and the wind moved the candles while the figures danced in explicit memory.

"We spent years trying to have children but we never could. The doctors told us nothing was wrong with either of us. That it was just bad luck. We tried everything and came up empty every time. Allana would have fallen apart without her work and it was the only thing that kept her going," he said.

"I remember," Rosie said, "I got to know Allana a few years before the accident. I was a pet project of her's and she was trying to teach a class of cons about emotions. She said it was like being torn apart every time she took a new fertility test or they had a new regime to try. All of those failures had not made her give up hope though and that is what she was trying to teach us. How to see the rainbow when it was raining, as she put it."

"Yeah that sounds like her. Before the accident she had been talking about some breakthrough but she never had a chance to fully explain what she meant. I was out of the country on an assignment when it happened. Not a day goes by where I don't feel responsible," he said.

"You can't blame yourself Jeranimo. It was a lab accident. Had you been there, I fear you would not have saved her. You will have to learn to let that go," she said.

"It is damn hard to let go when that means losing everything you had hoped for. Once she was gone, I just couldn't see the light. All that was left for me was the shades of regret," he said.

They began to hear soft sobbing sounds from the sarcophagus. A woman was crying inside. It sounded like her heart had been broken. It was enough to upset Jeranimo into action. He walked over to the dias and let go of Rosie's hand. She stumbled and fell to her hands and knees catching the floor.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, just a bit of pressure from up above is all. Losing contact with you made the effects of the toxin momentarily worse but I will be alright. The crying stopped," she said softly.

It was as if the person inside had stopped for a moment to listen to their conversation. All of a sudden the ground shook and heaved them both to the flat surface. The chandeliers began to fall and Jeranimo grabbed Rosie and pulled her up. They raced down the hallway and back into the light outside. Before they made it to the surface, they heard a loud crashing sound. The lid of the sarcophagus had fallen off and whatever was inside was now freed.

Once they were back outside, they noticed the crows were all gone. The storm above had reached a higher pitch of insanity and appeared like rolling waves of color exploding on the internal surface. They were still holding hands when they saw a flicker. She was standing near a group of headstones. Jeranimo quickly let go of Rosie and she collapsed again. He told himself it was so he would be able to react fast enough to protect her. Deeper down, he didn't want to see that apparition get jealous.

Standing not twenty paces away was a vision of beautiful dread. It looked like his former wife, except for the pale skin. She had sneakers, jeans and her favorite t-shirt. It was an Iron Maiden tour shirt with Fear of the Dark prominently displayed on her chest. It was cut low to display her ample cleavage and the collar he had chosen for her. An elaborate silver choker with a heart shaped ruby resting in her throat. She was calmly smoking a cigarette with the wind softly moving her hair to one side, no doubt seeing them even with her sunglasses on. The smoke whipped around and away from her as she took in the scenery. She saw him and beamed a beatific smile his way. Then she saw what was laying at his feet and grimaced. She took one last drag and exhaled through her nostrils in frustration. She wasn't just pissed, she was furious.

"Jeranimo," Rosie stammered, "you...you have to remember...she isn't real...nothing but a projection of yourself. Don't make her more real by believing her to be true. The eyes play tricks on people down here and a human's mind can be its own worst enemy. Remember, none of this is real," she finished. She tried crawling toward him but found she couldn't move. Her mind and her body were getting too far out of sync.

In a blink Allana's shadow was within reach of him and her disapproval was written on her face.

"Hi babe, did you miss me?" she cooed in his ear as she pressed her body to his. He could feel her cold flesh and the smell of lavender and tobacco emanated from her. "I really missed you," she said. Then, Allana bit him on the shoulder near his neck. Sinking in her teeth and drawing blood from his skin with a growl coming from his throat. "I know he missed me," she said as she trailed her hand up between his legs and squeezed what she found there. It pulsed in response to her touch and she giggled maniacally. She circled her tongue in the fresh bite mark on his neck and he almost fell to his knees from the mix of pleasure and pain. While she was enjoying herself, she again noticed the con laying on the ground beneath them.

"What the fuck is that thing doing here?" the shade said as she kicked Rosie in the ribs. Rosie coughed and wheezed from the blow signaling a rib might be broken.

"She is trying to save my life," Jeranimo said.

"How? By fucking you to death?," Allana replied. "She didn't bother to tell you about the rules here did she? Or what that crazy sky really means? She isn't playing you straight baby. You better believe trusting her is a good way to an early grave...but then...I would have you back, so maybe I should let you play the fool and get yourself killed. Look up baby," she took Jeranimo's chin in her hand and tilted his eyes skyward, "All that crazy shit going on up there means you are fucking her right now," she said scornfully.

"I didn't have a choice, Allana, it was the only way I could think of to save him," piped in Rosie who got another, harder kick from the shade.

"I didn't ask you Con," Allana said, "You speak again and it will be the last time, nod if you understand."

Rosie nodded.

"Good girl," Allana said and Rosie began to thrash about from the power of a voice command uttered by her first Master's shadow. "You may pleasure yourself but do not cum without my permission slut, do you hear me?" She said as she pulled on a leash that was now connected to Rosie's throat. It made Rosie gag and cough but she nodded again. As she did, she inhaled a fresh breath before giving her body the attention it so desperately needed.

"That's better bitch," Allana said and turned her focus back to Jeranimo. "Now, how to properly punish you?"

"For what?" He asked with a laugh.

"For letting me and our unborn child die you bastard. I found out a few weeks before the accident. You were away and I was going to surprise you when you got back from your assignment. Everything went to shit without you there to protect me. Butler found out what I was working on. He destroyed the lab before I was able to finish. So many secrets I kept from you baby. For that, I am sorry.

You still need to be taught a lesson though. Never leave your treasures unguarded or someone will steal them out from under you. Now off with the clothes, this might sting a bit," she commanded.

Jeranimo found himself in a gibbet with his bare flesh exposed. He heard the sound of leather before he felt the sting of a whip on his back.

"That's one baby. I think nine more should remind you of the cost of failing me," she said smiling wickedly. She continued until she had reached ten lashings. Each one stinging and burning into his skin deeper with each blow. He didn't make a sound.

"No cries or begging me to stop, lover? Okay then baby, another ten then just for good measure," she said quietly. The soft quiet before true fury is unleashed.

Before the whip could fall on him again he caught sight of Rosie, crying for him but unable to stop playing with herself. She was on her knees, naked now except for the collar, and clearly struggling not to climax. Her suffering was what brought him to free himself. He noticed that the gibbet wasn't locked and just stood up and out of the stocks.

"What do you think you are doing baby?" Allana asked as Jeranimo walked over to Rosie and pulled her up off the ground.

"How do we get out of here?" he asked.

"We have one chance," she stammered, "we can retreat into my mind where she can't follow."

"Okay do it," he said.

"Kiss me," she pleaded.

"What? Why?" he replied.

"Just do it. Quickly," she spoke.

Allana was fast approaching, whip in hand and anger on her face. Their lips met and they disappeared.

"See you in your dreams, Baby," the shade spoke to the empty space that the two had just occupied and she walked off into the cemetery lighting another smoke to add to the ambiance. Her dark laughter echoed off the tombstones.