Your Master Requires Your Attendance

On The Way

Laura watched from the rear seat as the van pulled into the driveway in front of a house. Was this the school Frank had mentioned? The driver parked, stopped the engine and got out. She watched as he went to the front door and rang the bell. The woman in the front seat kept glancing over her shoulder at Laura, then back to the other officer. Something didn't seem quite right. From what they had said she expected the trip to be several hours. Their travel time so far couldn't have been more than half an hour, certainly less than an hour.

The door opened and the man went inside the house. A few minutes later the door opened again as he came out, leading a woman who had her arms behind her back. The officer in the front seat opened her door, got out, and then opened the side door of the van. Laura turned to watch as the female officer unlocked the screen door to the rear of the van, and then stood back as the male guard helped the new arrival into the seat next to Laura. Another prisoner in handcuffs, she realized. As he had done with Laura the man fastened a seat belt and shoulder strap around her, then stepped back as the woman officer fastened another set of leg shackles on her ankles. This wasn't the school but another pickup.

Finished with the new passenger the man went around and got in the driver's side. The woman repeated the same procedure, closing the cage door, locking it, and finishing by shutting the van door. Satisfied both prisoners were secure the driver started the engine and pulled out onto the street once more. The woman officer gave the same lecture, with gag, to the new passenger. Seeing no resistance the guards ignored them.

Laura turned to look at her fellow traveling companion. She looked to be a little older, but what stood out was the gleaming metal ring around her neck. In the dim night light the first impression was of some sort of necklace, but as Laura studied it she realized it was nothing of the sort. It was too large, and there was a bulge in the back, what looked to be some kind of locking mechanism. It was a collar. Who was this woman, and why was she here? What kind of place were they being driven to?

Cathy noticed Laura's stare with some amusement. It must be the collar, she thought to herself, probably never seen one before. She looked over at Laura, wiggled her hands behind her back in a gesture of greeting, shrugged, and then smiled. It was a wordless confirmation that they were both in the same predicament. Their guards had made it clear they didn't want any talking, so a friendly wave was all she could manage now. From what she could see Laura was a few years younger, and putting on a brave face while too frightened to even consider defying her captors. Cathy had the advantage of knowing what to expect, but to Laura it was a vast unknown. Her outward calm was a façade; behind it she had to be near panic or hysteria. The best Cathy could do for her now would be to set an example of relaxed acceptance, to try to keep Laura from losing her composure.

The trip continued in silence with not a word from anyone. This time Cathy could see out the front windshield through the wire mesh. The last time there had been no windows, only passing sounds to give her a clue. She could tell from the road signs they were out of the city and heading south east, but she still had only a vague idea of where the school was located. She knew it was located in the desert, so they still had a ways to go. She looked back at Laura again, who leaned forward against the shoulder strap and wiggled her hands too, an answering gesture. Good, they were off to a start, comrades in adversity. It was always easier if someone else was sharing the same hardships. Even the chains didn't seem quite so bad as last time.

As they went through the mountains the driver pulled off the freeway onto a deserted overpass. He parked but left the engine running. Cathy saw the woman in front take something out of a bag then open her door. Curiosity was answered a moment later as the van door slid to the side and the cage door was opened. In her hand were wide leather straps, with a cushion of some material in the front and buckles in the back. Cathy recognized what they were from experience, blindfolds. The female guard got in the back, in the seat behind her and Laura, and proceeded to cover Cathy's eyes first. She held still as the strap went around her head. So they weren't going to see where the school was after all.

She felt Laura moving around, probably trying to avoid the blindfold, but the movement stopped abruptly as the guard told her to sit still. Neither one of them were in any position to offer more than token resistance. Cathy was grateful Laura seemed to come to that conclusion and didn't make too much trouble. As much as she wanted to help, Cathy did not want that gag stuffed in her mouth for the length of the trip. She couldn't say anything to Laura yet.

She heard the doors close, and a moment later they were back on the freeway. The blindfold was held on securely by the strap and wouldn't slip off by itself. The rest of the trip would be in darkness as well as silence. Cathy knew it was deliberate, a psychological tool to make them feel helpless and dependent. All of this was intentional, from the restraints to the silent treatment. The blindfold was a change from her last trip, but it was even more effective that the windowless van two years ago. She knew what they were doing to her, but it still had the intended effect. She felt vulnerable, controlled, trapped, incapable of offering any resistance. Laura would be going through the same emotions but magnified by her lack of experience and no knowledge of what was to come.

Haughty, spiteful and petty were to be Cathy's problems, according to what Robert had said. The school had to have a reason for her to be there, so the Director had made those suggestions. There had to be a bad attitude which the staff would work to correct. She would have to be careful about that and not forget her cover story. Robert was emphatic about keeping her real purpose a secret, so she had no alternative but to comply. She had no idea what the school had planned for her but she would have to endure it. No choice there either. In fact, she laughed ruefully to herself, she wasn't going to be making decisions about much of anything for quite a while.

The van drove on through the night. Both of the women in the back seat were quiet, lost in thought. Cathy brought up old memories of her last visit, and her friendship with Paula. After being released they had kept in touch for a while but her master Big Mike had taken a new assignment at a mine site in Australia and they had lost contact. Paula had been her safe port in the storm, the one who had helped her more than anyone else when they had been incarcerated together. Her stoic determination in what seemed to be a hopeless situation had been an inspiration to Cathy. Paula had never lost faith in her master, even after it appeared she had been abandoned. Now Cathy would be the one playing the part of the older and wiser role model.

For Laura the trip was something out of a nightmare. Even being trapped in the elevator wasn't as bad as sitting in that van. Her shoulders ached from holding her arms behind her back, and her wrists were sore from struggling with the handcuffs. They had put her in chains like a prison convict, and then forced her to wear a blindfold. It was all too much for her. She felt weak and defenseless, at the mercy of a pair of strangers. That woman next to her seemed so composed and worry free, not afraid at all, yet she was in the same predicament. She must know what's going to happen, Laura told herself, that's the only explanation. Maybe it won't be so bad after all, if her companion wasn't overly concerned. Deep breath, hold, release, the old yoga exercise came back to her. It was a way to relax and focus for meditation. She hadn't thought much of that class when she took it but it did help now.

The van slowed as they left the freeway. Up an exit ramp, across the overpass, then they drove back down a side road. A moment later the van stopped and Laura heard the front passenger door open. The cool night desert air, scented with sagebrush, came in the open door. She heard what sounded like a gate opening, then the van pulled forward and stopped again. Once more she heard what must be a gate, then a moment later the passenger door shut and they drove on. This must be some kind of private road, perhaps they were close to the school now.

Frank had called it a school, but what kind of center of education brought in students blindfolded and bound in chains? Laura had doubts it was really a school. More likely it was some other kind of institution, maybe a mental hospital or a jail. A stab of terror made her shiver, had Frank committed her to a psychiatric hospital? She had no doubt he could find the doctors to claim she had some rare mental disease and was a danger to herself.

No, that didn't explain the woman sitting next to her. Other than that steel collar there was nothing odd about her. She had been aware of her surroundings, even friendly. Besides, mental patients weren't delivered in police vans. And why the blindfold? There was no need to keep the location of a hospital secret. That meant it had to be something else.

They must have driven for another hour before the van slowed. Wherever they were, it was isolated. Laura had not heard a single car go past once they left the freeway. The van made a turn then came to a stop. She heard the rattling sound of a garage door opening, then the van backed into the garage and stopped again. The louder rumbling sound inside told her the garage door was closing. The driver turned off the engine and the guards opened their doors to get out.

Both women turned toward the side door at the sound of it opening, followed by the sound of a key in the cage door as it was unlocked. Cathy felt the leg irons being removed from her ankles, then her seat belt was released. Hands on her arm and behind her head helped her out of the van. Still blindfolded she had to move slowly, feeling for the floor with her foot. Once out she stretched to get the stiffness out of her legs. She bent at the waist and raised her arms as far as she could behind her back, trying to relieve some of the pressure on her shoulders for a moment. The guards allowed it, pausing before one took hold of her arm and forced her face forward against the side of the van. "Stay there and don't move," he ordered.

Laura sat quietly as the guards took the other woman out first. Moments later she felt hands on her ankles as the shackles were unlocked. She heard as much as felt the seat belt buckle open, then hands were on her arm, pulling her toward the open door. She slid along the bench seat, then turned her body to get out. A hand was on top of her head to keep her from bumping it against the van roof. She dropped off the edge of the seat and felt the garage floor underneath her. An awkward and graceless exit, but the best she could do with her hands bound and eyes covered.

She stretched her legs and tried to move her arms around to give some relief to her painful shoulders. She felt a touch behind her head, and then the blindfold came off. They were in a brightly lit garage. Laura had to blink a few times before her eyes adjusted to the light. The female guard had a hand on Laura's upper arm, holding her in place as the male guard brought up the other woman. A door in the side of the garage opened, revealing a room with two large uniformed men standing inside. Beyond the door Laura could see some type of counter and another door behind it.

They wore what was obviously some kind of uniform but there were no markings or insignia to give some clue as to what this place was. One man held a clipboard in his had as he peered intently at both women. He came over to Laura first, checked his clipboard once more then spoke to her, "tell me your first name only."

"Laura," she answered. She noticed he hadn't phrased it as a question, more as an order.

The man turned to the other woman, "your first name only".

"Cathy, sir" she answered. Laura watched how the woman, Cathy as she now knew her name, stood straight but lowered her eyes and spoke very softly. Laura didn't miss the significance of the "sir" she had added either. No one corrected Cathy so it must be part of the protocol here. The man with the clipboard took two envelopes from it and handed one to each of the van officers. Both thanked the man and started to get back in the van. The two women were led into the adjoining room and the garage entrance was shut. Laura heard the outside door open and the van drive off.

As the two were lined up in front of the counter Cathy mentally kicked herself. Only here a few minutes and she had already slipped. She was supposed to have a bad attitude but the moment one of the wardens had spoken to her she had lapsed into her old submissive self. Too ingrained, she thought, I can't even suppress it anymore. No point in trying to backtrack now and be a nuisance. She would have to find some other way for her "bad attitude" to show itself.

Both stood in front of the counter for several minutes while the man behind it filled out some paperwork. "Do either of you have any possessions? Purse, jewelry, anything besides your clothes?" he asked them.

"No sir" Cathy answered. Robert would have laughed at that question, knowing she was the possession. The warden hadn't asked about the collar, but it was clearly visible. Cathy was relieved when Robert had told her it would not be taken away. It was her one tie to him, a symbol of his promise to come for her when she had finished her assignment.

"No sir," Laura answered, following Cathy's example. The officer who had first searched her had taken off all her jewelry and put it in her purse, then given the purse to Frank. She literally had nothing but the clothes on her back.

He made a few more notations, and then gestured to the other two men in the room. "All yours, you can take them to processing." He turned and opened the gate of steel bars covering the door behind his chair. He inserted a key in a panel to one side and turned it. The doors slid open to reveal an elevator.

Laura hesitated for a moment, recalling her ordeal in the last elevator ride, but she had no choice but to enter as the man behind her forced her inside. She and Cathy stood facing the rear of the car as the door closed and they started to descend. Underground, Laura realized, the place is all underground. It must be a series of mineshafts or caverns. She glanced over at Cathy and almost laughed as she saw the wiggling fingers again.