Diversion Pt. 03

Beth Anne guides Sheree by the arm to the next cell. I move up to the bars of my cell to see what transpires. A solid, concrete block wall separates the cells. I can't see what's going on in Sheree's cell, but I can see outside my cell and down the hallway. I see Sheree struggling against Beth Anne's grip on her arm.

"Get your hands off of me. I'm not going in there until I get my telephone call!"

Beth Anne unlocks the cell door and tries to push Sheree inside. Sheree spreads her shackled legs as far as they will stretch, outside the door, as if that will keep Beth Anne from getting her inside the cell. Beth Anne casually kicks Sheree's foot inward with her foot, bringing Sheree's feet closer together, then pushes her into the cell. Sheree stumbles, thrown off balance and almost falls into the cell. When Beth Anne clangs the door shut, Sheree explodes in anger and rage.

"Fuck you! You can't do this to me. I want my goddamn phone call!"

Beth Anne ignores her and walks to my cell. "Turn around and put your wrists through that opening in the center so I can take the cuffs off."

There's a small rectangular opening in the middle of the door, where sections of the bars have been cut away, and I turn and place my wrists through it and she removes the cuffs. As I lean against the bars, I see I'm locked in a cell with concrete block walls and a poured concrete floor. The bed, if you want to call it that, consists of concrete blocks, mortared together, with a thin plastic covered mattress on top. The cell is no more than about ten feet deep and eight feet wide. There is an aluminum toilet that is somehow constructed together with a small aluminum sink. That's it.

"Leg irons stay on as long as you're our guests. We have a very small staff, and none of us have the time to go off chasing some fool who wants to make a break for it."

I lean against the bars again as Beth Anne steps back to Sheree's cell. "Step up to the bars if you want your handcuffs off," she says. Silence ensues for a moment, and then Beth Anne leans toward the slot on the door of Sheree's cell. I can see Sheree's hands - nothing else - and Beth Anne removing her handcuffs. But then I hear Sheree say, "And the leg irons?"

"They stay on," Beth Anne says.

"No! We're locked in goddamn cells! Where are we going? Take these damn things off!"

"Nope, it doesn't work that way. When you're in my jail, leg irons stay on."

"You can't do this! Take these off!"

Sheree beats on the bars with her fists, and kicks them with her feet. Her leg chain jangles on the floor and against the bars as her feet kick at the door. She keeps yelling for Beth Anne to unshackle her.

Beth Anne has walked almost all the way down the hallway. But she turns back towards us and walks toward Sheree's cell. As she passes in front of my cell, I see an angry look on her face. Sheree keeps yelling as Beth Anne reaches her cell. I step up to the bars, anxious and apprehensive to see what going on.

"Are you going to calm down? You're in my jail and I don't let people behave like this in my jail."

"Take these shackles off," she screams. "You don't know what we've been through. I can't deal with these! We're locked in a cell; we don't need to be shackled!"

Beth Anne says, "Sorry, but they stay on. I don't want to hear any more out of you!"

But before she can turn and walk away, Sheree kicks and rattles the bars and screams at Beth Anne, who says, "One last chance. Are you going to calm down?"

Sheree shouts, "No! Not until you unshackle me and let me have my phone call!"

Without another word, Beth Anne turns and walks down the hallway past our cells. Then I hear a voice from the cell on the other side of me say, "Hey, you need to get her to calm down."

I see an arm extending out of the cell motioning me in that direction. I walk over to the wall adjoining her cell.

"Listen, Beth Anne can be a sadistic bitch when provoked. I was on the receiving end of her anger the first time I got locked up here. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm Marlene, by the way." She reaches her arm through the bars and extends her hand toward me for a hand-shake. I stretch my arm out past the bars and we shake across our common wall. Then she says, "She really needs to calm down! If she provokes Beth Anne anymore it's gonna be bad. You've got to tell her."

I shuffle to the other side of the cell, lean against the bars and say, "Sheree, we'll get out of this." I start to share Marlene's warnings, but it's too late. I hear Beth Anne's footsteps, and Sheree starts yelling louder. As Beth Anne walks past me, I see she's holding a police baton and some other things which I don't have a clear view of. When she gets to Sheree's cell, she says, "Step up here, turn around and put your hands through the slot. Now!"

"No! You're not handcuffing me again."

"Yes, I am. You can step over here, or I'm going to have to come inside and do it the unpleasant way."

There is a moment of silence, and then I hear the door open, and Sheree verbally explodes, shouting curses which gradually combine with the sounds of physical violence in the cell.

Then I hear Beth Anne say in a loud voice, "I'll use the baton again if you don't lie down on the cot."

Silence ensues for the next few moments - a very disturbing quiet. Then I hear Sheree say, "Okay, I'm handcuffed. What are you doing now? You're hurting me. No! No! Fuck!!!"

Marlene calls out to me, and I move back to our shared wall to hear her better. "Hey, this is what I was afraid was going to happen. She locks the chain from your leg irons to your handcuffs. You're hogtied. You can't move. I hope she doesn't gag her. That makes it far more worse. She'll keep her like that for hours. That's what she did to me the first night I was in here. I haven't provoked her again all the times I've been back."

"Wait, what is that?" Marlene and I both hear Sheree cry out, and then we hear, "You're not putting that in my mouth!!! No! Mmmph!! Mmmpf!"

Then I hear the unmistakable sound of duct tape being ripped from a roll. Fuck, Sheree's not going to be able to deal with this, and I can do nothing to help her.

Marlene says, "She's getting the full treatment. Damn! Nobody deserves this. Beth Anne stuffs something in your mouth and then seals your mouth closed with duct tape, which she wraps around the back of your head. She kept me like that a couple of hours. It was horrible! There's nothing you can do."

But then Beth Anne's sadistic treatment of Sheree escalated.

"What happened to your feet? That looks bad. Do they hurt? What about this? Does this hurt?"

Whapp!

No! Beth Anne can't be doing this to her. She's slapping Sheree's feet with something - probably one of her flip-flops. The soles of Sheree's feet are still covered in welts from when Kitty caned them just before we escaped yesterday. No! She can't do this to Sheree. I react by rushing to the other side of my cell, almost tripping over my leg chain when my feet get entangled.

"Hey," I yell, ignoring Marlene who is frantically trying to stop me from what I'm about to do. "You fucking cunt! So, you get off on tormenting helpless, cuffed people in your jail?" My voice rises louder, as does Marlene's warnings from the next cell. "You want to prove you're so tough, come over here! I'll fight you in shackles!"

Beth Anne's reaction is instantaneous. I hear Sheree's cell door slam shut, and Beth Anne appears at my cell door, baton in hand. I take a few steps back from the bars, as she's unlocking the door.

The 'fight' doesn't last long. Beth Anne steps toward me and with a flick of her wrist, pops me with her baton between my legs. I freeze in pain for a moment and then instinctively reach down and put my hands over my genitals. She quickly steps behind me and hits me behind my knees with the baton. My legs buckle and she places her boot on my leg chain and pushes me forward. I brace myself with my arms to protect my head from hitting the bars, or the floor. As soon as I'm flat on the ground she places a knee on the back of my thighs and says, "Hands behind your back." I hesitate for a moment, still stunned by how quickly she took me down, and then I feel the weight of her baton press against the back of my neck. I put my hands behind my back, hear the ratcheting sound of handcuffs opening and then feel them tighten around my wrists.

She wastes no time in securing me as Marlene described. I first feel my ankle cuffs being linked close together. She must be padlocking them. Then she grabs the remainder of the ankle chain and pulls my legs up so she can wrap the chain around my handcuffs. She pulls my legs up so tight that my hands are now under my heels. She locks the chains in place, apparently with another padlock, and I can't move.

"I was easier on Blondie; I just looped her leg chain through her handcuffs. She can wiggle around a hell of a lot more than you can. And she's on her mattress; you're staying on the floor because you really pissed me off."

She picks up one of my shoes that fell off as she took me down and whaps my bare feet with it. It stings. And it stings more when she whaps me a second time. I can't imagine the pain Sheree felt when the soles of her bare feet were beaten with a wooden cane - twenty times.

"But before I leave you to enjoy your night, I'm got to do something about the filthy mouth of yours."

Fuck. This is far worse than I how imagined I could end up after hearing Marlene's description. The hand and leg cuffs are biting into my wrists and ankles because of the tightness of the chain holding them together. I don't think I can even roll over; if I did, I don't know if I'd be able to get back on my stomach. I have been in restraints for the most part of the last three days, but I've never been totally immobilized until now. And there's more hell coming. At least Sheree isn't being beaten anymore.

Marlene is silent now. I think I've aggravated Beth Anne to such an extreme she doesn't want to risk making her want to lash out in her direction. And then I hear Beth Anne walking back down the hall. She steps inside my cell and I see a roll of duct tape in one hand and a large kitchen sponge in the other. I instinctively react by trying to struggle, but of course that's to no avail. I start to shake my head from side to side and then realize that's only going to make this worse.

She wants me up off the floor; I guess it makes it easier for her to her gag me. She bends down and with both hands, pulls me up on my knees. My ankles are so tightly cuffed to my wrists, my feet come nowhere close to the floor. She straddles me with her legs and keeps one hand on the collar of my jumpsuit to hold me upright. She has the sponge in one hand and the duct tape looped around that arm.

I look up at her and say, "You got me. You win. But please, she doesn't have be cuffed up like this, let her... mmmph." And these words are probably the last ones coming out of my mouth tonight.

My mouth is being stuffed full of sponge. She squeezes it as she forces it in, and once inside it expands, puffing my cheeks out. I remember that a kitchen sponge is said to be dirtier than anything else in the kitchen. This one tastes nasty, and I wonder if it's ever been cleaned. My mouth fills with sour, soapy, metallic flavors. How can she make this more miserable than it is? Well, she slaps duct tape over my mouth, then pulls the roll tightly, wrapping it two or three times around my head. She tears the strip from the roll, and presses it into place. This is as horrible as Marlene described it, but many times over. I respond with curses and screams that have no voice.

And then I realize that having gotten me up to gag me while precariously balanced on my knees, she's not going to ease me down. I'm not dealing with a nice person. When she lets go off my collar, I can't continue to balance myself on my knees and I'll be hitting the ground - hard - with no hands out to protect myself. If I fall to the left, my head will hit the concrete block bed! I've got to push all of my bodily weight to the right, in order to fall free of obstructions. And if I fall backwards, which is where most of my weight is centered with my legs cuffed up behind me, the back of my head will undoubtedly strike the concrete floor - hard. Fuck!

And then it happens. She lowers her head, looking at me with a satisfied smirk on her face, and moves her hand away from my collar with a theatrical flourish. As I immediately start falling, I thrust my upper body as hard as I can to the right, and I manage to fall in that direction. My shoulder takes the blow; it's painful, but it could have been a whole lot worse.

I land on my side and Beth Anne picks up one of my shoes and resumes slapping the soles of my feet with it. She's swings it harder and harder; it goes beyond 'stinging' to 'painful'. And then she apparently tires of it; gives me a last hard slap on the side of my face, drops the shoe and stands up. She walks out of my cell, locking the door behind her.

Frustration, anger, worry about Sheree's mental state are my first reactions to being left alone in a locked cell, gagged and so tightly cuffed, I can't even roll over. I reposition my hands and move my feet to relieve the pressure of the metal pressing into my flesh. But it's all the same. Nothing helps. I can't move my tongue, lips, mouth, arms or legs. Panic can come easy in this situation and I take several deep breaths through my nose.

And then I hear Marlene speaking in a voice loud enough so Sheree can hear her too, "I know what you're going through. It hurts, you're uncomfortable, and you want struggle and fight it. But you can't do anything. I wish there was something I could do. I was terrified to say anything while she was in here. If she heard me say something she didn't like... I don't want to be cuffed up like that again. I'm so sorry for you two. I'm going keep talking to try to give you both support, as long as she's not here. When I got the cuffs, I was completely by myself. It was horrible. The isolation made it worse. So, I'm going to keep talking to you. Hell, I may read to you, sing to you, whatever, I don't know. Just as long as she's not here. If it helps at all - I don't know - but it's all I can do. If you don't want to listen, tune me out. But don't provoke her again."

Marlene talks, reads, and sings to us. Her voice calms me down and pushes the panic away. I hope it's doing the same for Sheree. I'm exhausted and haven't slept since I was in the tent prior to being abducted. Eventually, Marlene's soothing voice puts me to sleep, despite the severe restraints. I don't know how long I slept, but I wake up from a nightmare where I'm chained to the wall, mouth forced wide open with a harness gag and Damon is walking up to me. I wake up in horror as I find myself actually chained and gagged. Then I realize where I am and instinctively struggle against the reality of my physical restraints. But then Marlene's voice calms back down.

Time goes by slowly. I have no idea how long it's been. After I doze off one time, I wake to find the lights off. As soon as my eyes begin to adjust to the darkness, I hear the door open at the end of the hallway and suddenly there's bright, blinding light. I hear Beth Anne walking our way. She walks past my cell, toward Sheree's, where I hear her say, "Had enough? Ready to behave now?"

I hear Sheree's cell door open and Beth Anne says, "When I remove the gag, I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth except, 'Yes, ma'am and no, ma'am'. Understand?".

I next hear the sound of duct tape being removed and then the sound of leg irons jangling on the floor. A few moments later, a toilet flushes.

Then I hear Beth Anne say, "Go take Marlene's panties back to her."

Panties? Sheree was gagged with panties? Beth Anne couldn't have done that to her - but she did! I hear the sound of her leg irons as she walks out of her cell, and I look up to see Sheree staring down at me in shock and disbelief at the manner I'm tightly cuffed and gagged on the floor. Her handcuffs have been removed and she's holding a pair of blue panties in her hand.

Then Beth Anne says, "Marlene, you're gonna want to wash those in your sink before I put them back in your property bag. No telling where that mouth's been or what kind of germs are in there."

When Sheree shuffles past me again, back to her cell, she looks down at me and mouths something but I have no idea what she says. I hear her cell door close and Beth Anne walks up to my cell and unlocks the door. "So, how's your stay been so far? Enjoying your time here?"

She steps up to me and taps the side of my face lightly with the toe of her boot while she smiles down at me. "Not so foul mouthed now, are you. Okay, I guess you're ready to get uncuffed."

She bends around releases the padlock securing the chains in place and the one holding my ankles tightly together. I lower my legs and feel the numbness and stiffness caused by the hours chained in that severe hogtie. I desperately need to pee and motion with my head and fingers to the toilet.

"Okay, I'm releasing one cuff so you can open the jumpsuit and do your business. But I'll have one hand on my baton, if you decide to start something."

I pee with my handcuffs dangling from one wrist. I look at my free wrist and see a dark red indention where the cuff had been. I finish relieving myself and button my jumpsuit. Beth Anne says, "Now, fasten that cuff behind your back."

Fuck! She's gonna keep me in handcuffs the rest of the night. I'm sure that means the gag too. Goddamn her!

"I still see a whole lot of attitude still there, so the cuffs stay on and I want to hear at least three more clicks on that handcuff. After you do that, turn around, lean your head against the wall and I'll double-lock them to keep you from squeezing them tighter."

After she secures the cuffs, she walks out of the cell, locks the door and walks down the hall. Then the lights go out.

As soon as Beth Anne is gone, I hear Sheree call out to me. I hobble up to the bars and hear her hand tapping on our shared wall.

"Wade, are you there? Did she release you?"

I kick the bars, and try to mumble through my gag, but I don't think a recognizable sound leaves my mouth.

"Oh god, she left you gagged."

I kick the bars several times.

"I know why you did what you did last night. That stopped the pain she was inflicting on me. I love you for that, and you know it. It means so much to me. But, don't do that again! Look where it got you. You're in a bad spot right now. Oh god, how did we get here? But you'll get through this. That horrible bitch gagged me with that woman's panties! She finally - after all these hours - unhooked my handcuffs from my ankle chains, and ungagged me. But she left you like this. Goddamn her! Look, I've got to lay down. I'm beaten and worn out. Stay strong, baby. I love you."

I pace around my cell for a few moments and then decide I'm not going to spend the rest of the night gagged with a fucking sponge in my mouth and my hands cuffed behind my back. I bend my knees and squat down. As I do, I start to pull my handcuffs around my butt. It doesn't work the first time I try it. But I push my shoulders back, forget about the pain in my wrists, and then force the cuffs to slide over my butt, so they end up behind my knees.

Now, sitting on the floor, I just move one foot at a time back towards me and slide my cuffs over that foot. The leg chain is not a problem since I don't have to spread my legs far apart. Once I maneuver the cuffs over the second foot, my hands are now cuffed in front of me.

I lean back against my concrete block bed and breath sighs of relief through my nose. After resting a few moments, I begin pulling off the tape that's covering my mouth and wrapped around my head. It's awkward to do while handcuffed, but I'm determined to get rid of this gag. Once I unwrap the outer layers, I get to the final one which painfully yanks and tears away my hair as it's pulled off. The last of the tape comes off and I work the fucking sponge out of my mouth and throw it on the ground. I massage my jaws, and move them around to work out the stiffness. Then I lay down on the mattress, more exhausted than before.