The sound of a steady beeping permeated the room. I could feel I was back in the hospital bed, naked under the blankets. I had been placed on my back, but I did not feel pain like before, it was blunted.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw colored wires coming from my chest. A new IV had been placed on the back of my left hand this time. I could feel that I had a new Foley catheter inserted too.
What happened?
I groaned as I turned my head to see the monitors, but soon realized I was missing my glasses. Why was I so disoriented? How did I not realize I did not have my glasses before?
"How are you feeling?" Mia asked as she walked closer to me. She grabbed the glasses from the nightstand and handed them to me. I am going to guess that only a couple of hours had passed since I was last awake because Mia was still on duty.
"What happened?" I was still feeling groggy and leaden.
"Well, it's rare, but according to Mistress, you went into neurogenic shock from the extreme pain. You gave everybody quite a scare. We had to activate the resuscitation protocol to bring you back. Mistress had to pump you full of fluids and give you norepinephrine to bring your blood pressure back up and get your heart beating faster." Mia stated while holding on to the bedside rail.
"So, you mean to tell me that she basically killed me? That's reassuring." I said sarcastically as I turned my head away from Mia. "That monster can't even control herself."
Mia grabbed a fistful of hair and jolted my head to face her, sending a painful shock out from my neck, making me wince. "Don't. Talk. About. Mistress. That. Way." She growled in a low, menacing tone. "She just saved your life."
"Only after nearly killing me!" I said through gritted teeth. Looking at her dead in the eyes.
"It's your fault she had to resort to such extremes," said Mia.
"Then let her kill me the next time! I don't care anymore. She's done enough. You all have!" I could not care less about what they wanted, I just wanted out.
She backhanded me. I looked angrily back at her while holding my stinging cheek. A few involuntary tears ran down my face.
"What is it going to take to make you kill me, bitch?" I spat at her as I haphazardly swung a punch her way, but she caught it. I used my other arm to hit her and once again, she caught it. I tried to close the gap between her and me to headbutt her, but she stayed a safe distance away as she yelled for security while trying to pin me down, with both wrists on either side of me.
While Mia was wrestling me, the door slammed open and in came five burly security guards, followed by Nurse Cleary holding a needle. As they quickly approached me, I thrashed violently, screaming profanities at all of them.
"Hold her down on her side." Nurse Cleary commanded. Between Mia and the guards, I could not move at all. Each of them was holding a limb and my head. I felt a prick on my left butt cheek before Mia started restraining me to the bed.
After I was fully secured to the bed, Nurse Cleary smirked sinisterly at me. "Mia, the B52 injection will start working in a couple of minutes. After she's knocked out, keep a look-out for any changes in her respiratory rate or heart monitor. If anything changes, call us quickly. As for you," Nurse Cleary turned to me, forcefully grabbing my chin and pressing her nails into my skin, "be grateful that Mistress still wants to play with you."
I was starting to feel numb. Still, I growled at her, gritting my teeth, then spit in her face. My nostrils were flaring. She stayed surprisingly calm as she wiped away the saliva from her face. She gave me one final ugly smirk of hers and threw my face to the side. "When Mistress tires of you, I'll be there to pick up the pieces."
Nurse Cleary spun on her heels and signaled for the guards to leave. Everyone except Mia exited the room.
Mia walked to the other side of the bed towards the door. "You know, everybody is getting really tired of your shit. No wonder you got booty juiced." Mia exclaimed with a worn-out sigh as she plopped down on the chair.
I scoffed and looked away, not even wanting to dignify her with a response. The numbness in my body was progressing. Fast. I was starting to lose sensation in my limbs.
"Keep being a brat, it'll only get worse for you," Mia exclaimed.
How can it get worse than it already is? I've been stripped of everything!
I tried clenching my hands into fists, trying to calm myself down, but I could not move anymore. I was furious, but I could not and was not going to talk to Mia. I could not feel my body. I was getting sleepier by the second. At least now I would not have to see nor listen to her for hours, and so, I let myself be pulled into the darkness's sweet embrace.
---
Dahlia's shift was about to begin. She made her way up to B-2 and from there, she walked into the patient wing. As she passed by several security guards, she greeted them all fondly.
Dahlia was well liked in the base. She was an excellent trainer, strict but fair. Her trainee's success record was only surpassed by Kristia. Kristia, on the other hand, was ruthless with her trainees. Demanding only perfection from them. If she had to make them repeat the training exercise three times, by God, they had better gotten it perfect by the third try or else they would get to know what fear of failure truly was.
The difference in their training strategies was the main reason that Dr. Garnett had them working separately. Dr. Garnett had hypothesized that a merciless trainer would yield more obedient and efficient soldiers, and she most certainly wanted to test her hypothesis. After all, Dr. Garnett's motto had always been that "respect comes from fear," so she always conducted her business in the same manner.
At the same time, Dr. Garnett also wanted to see how having her top two trainers working with opposing personalities would influence their training capabilities. This is how Nivia, and Mia, came into the picture. Both Nivia and Mia were also top soldiers, but they did not care much for training others. They would do it if they had to, and they were good at it, but neither of them possessed the spark that drove Dahlia and Kristia. Unlike Dahlia and Kristia, Nivia and Mia were much better at following orders rather than giving them to their subordinates. Nivia and Mia still commanded respect, but they much rather preferred to cheer from the sidelines as opposed to being the center of attention.
As Dahlia reached Keira's room, she gave one last guard a warm greeting before opening the door. Once inside, Dahlia was shocked to see Keira strapped down to the bed by leather bonds. Dahlia's face did not register any outward emotion, she could not keep showing sympathy for Keira in front of others. Dahlia knew Mistress was not happy after their last encounter when Mistress had walked in and found Keira hugging Dahlia. Dahlia knew that the look Keira gave her when Mistress had asked Dahlia to leave had not sat well with Mistress, so Dahlia was being more cautious about the way she acted in front of others.
Mia debriefed Dahlia on the latest turn of events with Keira as Mia was signing off for the day.
Once Mia had exited the room, and about five minutes had passed, Dahlia felt confident that no one was going to walk in on them for a while.
Dahlia soon walked up to a sleeping Keira and sighed disappointedly looking down at the bounded brunette. The red hair wondered what had gone through the younger girl's mind to act out so violently, when just the day before the twenty-year-old had said that she wanted to survive. Dahlia took off the girl's eyeglasses and cleaned them with the hem of her shirt before setting them on the bedside table, then she fixated on the rhythmic motion of Keira's rising and falling chest. The older woman grabbed the sheet and pulled it further up to Keira's neck, making sure to tuck her arms in better so that the young girl would not get cold. After making sure Keira was warm, Dahlia brushed the brunette’s hair out of her face and behind her ear, then let her hand linger on top of Keira's head.
"Oh, Keira, Keira, Keira," Dahlia let out another heavy sigh. "Why won't you just obey?" She spoke low and soft. The rhetorical question escaped Dahlia's lips as she caressingly stroked Keira's head. The question that Keira had asked yesterday still lingered in the older woman's mind. Dahlia had never given thought to losing her humanity while working in this compound until Keira pointed it out. Would Dahlia be able to retain her humanity, or would it cease to exist?
Dahlia could not help but notice how pale Keira had become in such a short amount of time. The older woman was growing concerned at how quickly the younger girl was deteriorating. In less than a week, the brunette was already looking thinner despite being fed, her eyes seemed to look sunken, and this was probably the only time she had seen Keira sleeping peacefully, albeit under the influence of medications.
With one last stroke of Keira's hair, Dahlia turned to sit on the chair by the door. She took out her cellphone and began playing the games she had in it. Since they were underground, and she had no signal, she could only use her phone for offline activities.
Dahlia was just biding her time until Keira awoke.
----
The glaring hospital lights tore me away from a dreamless slumber only to be met by the disconcerting beeping that indicated that I was unfortunately still alive and still very much trapped.
The bonds shackling me to the bed were a grim reminder of the wretched reality that was my life.
My eyes fluttered open. I groaned as I tried to sit up to stretch my sore back. Thankfully, I was only in a four-point restraint, so I was indeed able to lift myself off the top half of the bed.
"You're finally awake!" Dahlia basically jumped out of her chair. "What did you do? Sorry, phrased it wrong. Why did you do it?"
I really was not in the mood to talk.
"Please answer me, I'm not Mia or Mistress," Dahlia adjured.
I sighed heavily, then turned to face her.
"What's the point of living anymore? I have nothing to look forward to. This," I pulled up at the restraints, "is my life now."
Dahlia stayed quiet for a second, pondering on what to say.
"I... I don't know how to answer to that." She looked sad.
"Everything I do will always be met with a consequence. If I screw up, it means pain for me. If I don't, then maybe, just maybe, I might get to have a decent time. No matter what, I'll ultimately still be trapped with no hope of getting back to my life. I have nothing here to live for, so why not just end it sooner? That's going to be my fate anyway," I responded dejectedly.
Dahlia grabbed my bound right hand and gave it a tight squeeze.
"At least try to make your days here better. Yesterday, you said that you wanted to survive, what happened to looking forward to that?" Dahlia countered my argument.
"Things change. I'm tired of having to beg not to get hurt further --" She interrupted before I could finish my sentence.
"Then obey when given a command!" Dahlia's voice rose almost to a yell.
"I can't alright! I just can't follow all of them! It's not pride anymore, I'm fucking terrified!" I tensed at my mistake. "Oh god, please don't hit me. I'm sorry." I was quick to apologize, fearing what Mistress had said about cursing.
"Don't worry, I won't." She gave my hand another squeeze. "How about this, I'll try to do everything in my power to make your living situation better. Unfortunately, I can't control what others do to you, but as for me, know that I won't hurt you. That's the best I can give you for now. Are... Are you okay with that?" Her hand rose to my left cheek so that I would face her. It was not particularly soft, I could feel a couple of calluses, most probably from handling weapons and training.
"Sure, I'll take it." I shrugged. "I have nothing else left." I looked down at the leather bonds, then pulled them up again. "Can you take these off?"
"I'm sorry, I can't. Nurse Cleary said to keep you in them for two days, and Mistress already approved," she replied, giving me a pitying look.
"Two days?! Isn't that a bit excessive?" I gawked.
"I'm sorry, but you didn't give them much of a choice. They had to resort to such coercive measures," she said.
I scoffed as I launched myself back on the bed. Thankfully, Mistress had me hopped up on painkillers because my reaction did not hurt as much. I still let out a small hiss.
"Careful! Don't make your wounds any worse than they already are," she eyed me worriedly.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say." I rolled my eyes indignantly.
"See! Right there! That's the attitude that gets you in trouble," she pointed out.
"Yeah, okay." If I could have crossed my arms, I would have.
She sighed exasperated, not wanting to say anything else on the matter.
"I'm not going to bring it up anymore. I already warned you. Now, it's up to you." She left the room and came back with a tray of food. She put it on the table and slid it close to me. "Unfortunately, Mistress's rules still apply. She wants you eating. Since I can't untie you, you're going to have to let me feed it to you. Please don't make me force it down your throat. The last thing I want is to cause you any further distress."
"That's humiliating! I'm not a child," I contended.
"I know, but there's nothing I can do about it right now. Please, just cooperate," she implored.
"Cooperate..." I let the word linger for a bit, "or are you going to make me do it like the first day when you forced me to eat off the floor? Made me beg? Made me get on my hands and knees to eat?" I was spitting acid with my words. My nostrils flared. The back of my throat stung. I wanted her to remember exactly what she did to me, how horrible she made me feel. Yes, I was mad at feeling imprisoned, and I wanted to vent, so I misplaced my anger on her.
"Is that what you want to do right now? Okay, fine. What else you got? What more do you want to say to me?" She quickly slapped her chest, then held her hands open in an aggressively daring way. "Come on, spit it out!"
"Oh, I don't know, let's talk about the ice bath, and how you tied me to the posts that Mistress used to scar me! Now look at me..." I looked down and dropped my arms with an audible thud. Tears pooled in the corner of my eyes. "Fucking pathetic."
"Oh, Keira, I... I'm sorry." She got closer to me and pulled me into a hug. Her hand was on the back of my head, pulling me closer into her. "I can't take back what I did, and I take full blame for the choices I made. I didn't know that Mistress was going to take it that far. I still can't get your agonizing screams out of my head. If you want to hate me, go ahead. I don't blame you."
I didn't respond to her. There was nothing left for me to say. I just stayed consumed by the hug, not wanting to let my tears fall.
Dahlia was the first to pull away. Both of her arms were on my shoulders. She was looking directly at me.
"Let's get some food in you." She gave me a half smile.
"Fine. Let's just get this over with." I rolled my eyes and sank back on the bed. She angled the bed higher than it was and made sure to pull the top sheet over me to cover what had been exposed when I sat up.
Dahlia uncovered the food tray to reveal mashed potatoes, chicken breast, broccoli, and a side of cubed pineapples. I was still reluctant to be fed, but my stomach's growling argued otherwise.
Was I hungry? Starving!
Was getting fed while tied down to a bed awkward as hell? Heck yes!
Did I do every possible thing to avoid eye contact? Obviously!
To finish the meal, she held up the water bottle so that I could drink from it. Her other hand was on the back of my head so that the water would not spill.
"That wasn't so bad, was it? You finished everything! I'm glad," she cheered as she was setting everything aside.
"Okay, now that that's done with, what am I supposed to do now for the next two days? Stare at the ceiling and hope for time to go by faster? I'm going to be bored out of my mind," I whined.
"Well, in about 15 minutes, somebody is going to come in to check up on you, change you, and give you a bath. After that, I'll see if I can bring a TV in here or something to pass the time," she remarked.
"Change me? Change what? I'm naked under the sheets." I was genuinely confused.
"You haven't noticed?" Both of her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Noticed what? What are you talking about?" My eyebrows, on the other hand, knitted themselves in a scowl.
"Umm, well, this is awkward. Do you seriously not feel it?" Her right hand went to the back of her neck, rubbing it uncomfortably.
"What is it? Feel what?" I moved my legs as much as I could, and that is when I finally felt it and heard it. I must have been too focused on the restraints to not notice that I was not completely naked. There was something wrapped around my pelvis because I could feel it tugging at the Foley catheter. "What. The. Fuck?" My eyes widened at Dahlia; I was incredulous.
She let out a light laugh.
"Don't laugh! What the hell? Why do I have this on me?" I got apoplectic when I heard her chuckle.
"You are going to be strapped down for two days, so that means that you can't get up to go to the bathroom," she tried to reason with me.
"No. No. No! That's fucking degrading and humiliating. Tell them to give me something to knock me out for the next two days because there is no way in hell that I am going through this." I was growing exasperated.
"I'm sorry, you're going to have to put up with it," she said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, no. Not happening. If it comes down to that, I'll hold for as long as I need to. Guess I'm going to sleep a lot for the next two days. I want as little contact with the world as possible. Ridiculous." I muttered the last word under my breath. I'm being treated like a literal child. I guess if I am asleep then I will not need to eat as much, problem solved.
Dahlia did not say a word, if anything, I think she found my tantrum amusing.
"Don't worry, I won't even be in the room when the time comes. Only if whoever comes in here shouts for assistance in subduing you, then I won't have a choice," she noted.
"Just, stop talking. Change the damn subject," I dismissed her.
She chuckled. Sure, fucking hilarious.
I turned my face to the other side of the room wanting to get this last conversation out of my head, pretending that it never happened.
"So..." Dahlia breached the silence tentatively. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"
Fucking awkward silence ensued. It was for the best, it helped me calm down a little.
"What's your favorite color?" Really, this is the best she's got? I let out a breathy laugh. I guess she really wants to talk.
I turned my face to look at her. I had a set expression. "Red. Yours?"
She laughed. "Why red?"
"What do you mean, why? Because I do. Do I need a specific reason to like a color? Red's awesome, period," I riposted.
"Whoo! Testy." She held her hands up in front of her chest in defense.
"That's not what I meant," I explained.
"I know what you meant, I'm just messing with you," she bantered.
"Okay then, Miss Nosy, what is your favorite color and why?" I scowled at her mockingly.
Dahlia gasped exaggeratedly; feigning hurt, then gave me a friendly nudge. "Green because it's awesome." She shoots me a mischievous grin then quickly adds, "green because it's the color of spring and rebirth. I find it to be such a peaceful color. It reminds me of when I used to go to my grandma's house in November. She had a Granny Smith apple tree in her backyard that would yield such great tasting apples. My grandma would cut them up and serve them to us or make delicious apple pie. It was always such a treat whenever we got to spend Thanksgiving with her."
"Us? You have siblings?" I do not know why I thought it was weird to picture her as having siblings.
"Yeah, an older sister and a younger brother. How about you?" Middle child, huh. Usually, they are the abandoned child. The eldest tends to be praised for being the first one in the house to accomplish things, while the youngest is coddled just for being the youngest, so the middle child tends to be the forgotten one.
"No. It's just me." I do not know if being an only child was a blessing or a curse in my situation. If I were to have had a younger sibling would mom's reaction to losing dad have been the same or would she have had more of a responsibility to care for somebody else? Would I have been stuck with that responsibility too? Maybe it would not have been half bad, then again, where would the money come from to feed another mouth?
We kept talking and soon after one question became two and so on until it quickly became a game of twenty questions. I found out that her favorite animal is a giraffe because they look so dorky when they bend down to drink water, plus according to her, their spots were just adorable. She said that if it were ever possible, she would love to ride one. I share that sentiment also. Among the other things that I found out about her, she also mentioned that she loves to cook, and her favorite food is sushi.
I soon started to wonder that if our circumstances were different, and we had met outside of this base, if we would have grown to have been good friends. Maybe even something more?
We were laughing and having a good time. It was the first time in almost a week that I laughed. For the first time since being here, I was enjoying myself. Dahlia was not making me feel threatened or small, instead, I felt welcomed and human.
I was still conflicted. She said she is trying to make amends for what she did to me, but I am going to need time to forgive her.
As we kept asking each other different things, the door opened. A blonde woman was entering the room, but her back was turned to us since she was using it to get the door open as she wheeled in a cart with towels, sponges, soap, a pail, and other bath products.
"Pvt. Winters?" Dahlia was the first to recognize the blonde. "What are you doing here?"
"Cleary stuck me with the grunt work, so here I am." Pvt. Winters responded nonchalantly. "She said I would be doing scut work until whoever was in this room was released." Pvt. Winters turned around to face the room and smiled when she saw me. "She didn't mention it would be Keira, though. I guess Mistress doesn't want many people to know where Keira is recuperating, it seems."
"Yeah, she kind of wants to keep it on the down low. Authorized personnel and everything. She doesn't want people going out of their way to see her just yet," Dahlia answered back.
"I can understand that. I've heard a lot of talk going around of people wanting to play with her a bit. It's not like Mistress would oppose, though, but Keira definitely needs to recover." I gulped at Pvt. Winter's statement.
"Yeah. Anyway, I'm going to leave you two alone. I'll be out in the hallway. Shout if you need anything." Dahlia said as she was walking out the door.
"So, we meet again." Pvt. Winters gave me a warm smile, which I reciprocated rather nervously. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."
"You and me both." I let out a nervous chuckle.
"How have you been since we met?" Pvt Winters asked.
"Really?" I deadpanned. "That's your idea of small talk?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"I-I'm sorry." She stammered awkwardly. "I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to know how your bruises were healing and if the pain was still bad enough that you couldn't walk."
"Well, I don't know. I haven't checked. After Mistress branded me, I've pretty much been in this bed. The pain from the burn has been so bad that it must have overshadowed the pain from the beating. To tell you the truth, I just hurt all over. The last time I stood up, it was still there, but the burn took precedence. Thankfully, Mistress put me back on painkillers, that is, after she basically killed me. So yeah, you can say things are going fine and dandy." I was being overly sarcastic with Pvt. Winters for no reason at all. She has been the only one here to sincerely ask for my wellbeing and without causing me any harm. She did help me when we first met, so I do not know why I answered her that way.
"Well, I see that Mistress hasn't been able to quell your sense of humor." She laughed. I looked at her incredulously. "I am sorry for everything that you've gone through, and I don't blame you for reacting in the way that you have. Don't worry, I didn't take what you said personally." She responded while placing a comforting hand on my lower leg.
"I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I lashed out at the question. You had nothing to do with anything that's happened." I need to work on whom I misplace my anger on.
"Don't worry about it. So..." She took a long pause. "I'm guessing you already know why I'm here?"
"Unfortunately." I sighed.
"I know this must be rather awkward and humiliating for you--"
"You have no clue." I interjected.
"I can imagine. I'm going to try to do it as quickly as possible without hopefully not making you feel too bad. If at any point you feel any pain, just tell me and I will stop or go gentler to the point where you can handle it. I'm not here to cause you any pain, I just want to make you feel better." The way in which she talked helped soothe my mind.
"Thanks. Actually, you know what will make me feel better?" I had to seize the opportunity.
"Please don't say to remove your bonds. You know I can't do that." She anticipated what I was going to say.
"How did --"
"I will, however, give you some slack so that you can sit up better, and I can work faster. Is that okay with you?" She counteroffered.
"Fine." I rolled my eyes.
"I'm not going to debride you, only Mistress or Cleary does that, but I will have to wash your burns and wounds, so it might hurt. I'll try to be as delicate as possible." At least I will not have to put up with having my skin scraped off.
"I don't think you can be any worse than them, but thank you," I told her out of pity for myself.
"Is it okay if I begin?" She asked earnestly.
"Yes?" Why was she asking me for permission? Everyone here has taken whatever they want from me without regards to my preference, so why did she hesitate to do whatever she had to with me?
"Thank you. It's just polite to ask a patient for permission before doing anything to them," she replied sincerely.
"Wow, ok." I could not help but smile at her bedside manners. "Thanks for being considerate. You're the only one here to treat me like a person from the start and consider my feelings. It just felt so... Odd."
She gave me another warm smile and grabbed the blanket that was draped over me. Before removing it, she gave me one last questioning look until I gave her a wordless approval that she could continue. I was not exactly thrilled to go through this, but the faster she does it, the quicker I can get this whole thing over with. On top of all that, I could not think of any other person I would feel maybe somewhat comfortable with to bathe me. The thought still repulsed me, but if I had to pick somebody in this compound to help me with something, I figured she would be at the top of the list.
Pvt. Winters pulled off the covers, and I could not help but look away from her while blushing.
She inhaled sharply when she saw my torso. I looked down and realized what she had reacted to. The bruises covering me had grown and coalesced together. There were yellow hues starting to peek through the purple hematomas.
"At least they didn't break any bones." I gave her a half smile to break her attention away from the bruises. She quickly cleared her throat and stood up straight. She did not say anything as she turned to grab a washcloth.
Pvt. Winters carefully started washing my front, being extra cautious around my contusions. Even though I had painkillers coursing through my veins, I could not help but wince every time the washcloth brushed over my tender bruises. She kept apologizing every time I flinched, but I reassured her that she could continue.
After washing my front, she removed the bandages covering my wrists, left forearm, and back. She also took off the pesky collar. "I think this won't be necessary for now. I'm going to try to convince Mistress to leave it off for a while, at least until you are discharged. I see no harm in taking it off, besides there's so much security outside this room, that there's no need to track your every move. If anyone asks, just blame it on me, I'll tell them."
"Thank you." I was ecstatic to have that damn collar off already. It was itchy, but I could not scratch being tied down.
She took a step back to give me a quick look over. Her eyebrows scrunched up in sadness and pity. I saw as her eyes traveled from my forehead, looked over the healing lesions on my face, went down to my neck, looked at my burns, and finished with my bruises.
"They have certainly done a number on you. I'm sorry for all that you've gone through," she commiserated.
"Thanks." I said, pursing my lips. Her sympathy for me was well received, but I still could not fully trust anyone working for Mistress.
She did not say another word as she finished washing my entire torso and wounds. After applying new dressings on them, came the part I had been dreading, my lower half.
Pvt. Winters took off the sheet completely and threw it on the chair. That is when I saw the horrendous and humiliating makeshift diaper I was wearing. She saw me squirm uncomfortably.
"I know, I know. Bear with me for this last part, and it'll be over soon. I'll make quick work of it. Afterwards, is there anything you want me to get you? Anything else to eat perhaps, or another blanket?" She said, as she was taking off the god-awful plastic wrapping from my pelvis.
I sighed heavily, averting my gaze away from her and towards the door. "Maybe another water bottle, and is there any way that I could have a book or something to pass the time? I'm going crazy staring at the white walls."
"I think I can do that. Is there any genre in particular that you prefer?" I felt her take the washcloth and start at my feet, then make her way up my legs.
"Anything that can take me away from here. Fantasy, adventure, horror, thriller, whatever you can find." As soon as her hands reached my center, I jumped at the sudden contact. My entire face felt blistering hot, but she did not say anything or act differently because of my reaction. She made it seem like it was a common occurrence, something she would do every day or seen a thousand times. On the one hand, it made me feel less embarrassed at the whole situation, but on the other, I still felt extremely self-conscious.
"All right, I can manage that, no problem." She finally replied after she finished washing me.
She set the washcloth aside and grabbed a blue underpad and some medical tape. I knew what was coming. "I uh, have to put another one on you," she tried to make the situation as less embarrassing as possible for me without much success.
I did not even argue or question her. I just wanted to put this ridiculous situation behind me. This is something that older adults get, but I was neither old nor an infant to have a diaper put on me. I know hospitals do this with patients who cannot get up to go to the bathroom by themselves, but I was more than capable of it, I was just tied down to this damn bed.
With one long and annoyed sigh, I lifted my bottom half off the bed so that Pvt. Winters could slide the underpad below me. She then folded it over to my front and taped it.
"We're never going to talk about this, got it?" I warned her.
"Duly noted," she stated. She then walked over to the cabinet on the other side of the room and took out a patient gown. Finally, I will have a semblance of clothing on me.
She turned to me and spoke seriously. "I'm going to make a deal with you."
"I'm listening," I answered, just as seriously.
"I'm going to let you get dressed by untying one hand at a time. After you have slipped on the gown up one arm, I'll tie it back down, then proceed to the other arm until you have the gown on. After that, I will tie it in the back so that you can be here with something on." She took a deep breath.
"But?" I know she has not said everything she was going to.
"But if you don't cooperate and try to escape or fight me, I won't have a choice but to call security. That can result in extending your stay tied to the bed," she finished speaking.
There was not much to think about. It was enticing trying to escape, but I know I would get nowhere. The pros outweighed the cons.
"Okay, no problem. You have my word." I shrugged it off as if it was not a big deal.
She looked at me skeptically for a second, then placed the gown in my right hand as she untied it. I followed her orders and did exactly as she wanted. I just cared to be covered, so I did not do anything that would go against me.
Everything went by seamlessly. She tied my gown and thanked me for following orders.
Pvt. Winters grabbed all the materials she brought in, then made her way to the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she said as the door closed behind her.
Once Pvt. Winters had exited, Dahlia did not come into the room. I was alone for maybe ten minutes. In that time in which I was alone, I did look around to see if there was any way for me to get out of these shackles. I did not need to leave the room if Mistress wanted me to recover, but I did want to be untied. Sadly, I found no means of freedom.
After I had given up on trying to get free from my restraints, Pvt. Winters entered the room with a couple of things in hand.
"Since you are still tied down to the bed for two days, you won't be able to hold a book, much less flip through the pages. I brought you one anyway, and I'm going to leave it here on the nightstand. I did also bring you something else in the meantime, which I think you will enjoy." I saw her place a small speaker next to the book. She reached behind the nightstand to plug in the appliance. There was a cable attached to the back of the speakers that ended in a small rectangular device she was holding. When she handed it to me, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was an iPod Nano. I haven't seen this device in years! My eyes were wide in shock.
She laughed at my sincere reaction. "Jeez, don't look so surprised, it's just a loaner! I hope you like it. I loaded a couple of books and songs in it. There are also a couple of podcasts which I think you might enjoy. Now, you mentioned horror among the genres you wanted to listen to. Do you perhaps like zombies?"
"Do I like zombies? I love them! It's my guilty pleasure, but I don't really mention that during casual conversation because people look at me weird," I laughed.
"Oh, perfect, me too! Are you familiar with Resident Evil?" Pvt. Winters inquired.
"That was actually the series that got me into liking zombies. I love the games and the movies. I don't care if people think they are corny or cheesy, I think they are awesome." It felt great talking to someone about shared interests.
"Well, if that's the case, then I recommend you listen to the Resident Evil radio drama. It's basically a run through of the first game. If you're not familiar with it yet, then I'm sure you're going to thoroughly enjoy it. Also, after you finish that one since it's rather short, listen to the 'We're Alive' podcast. It's the one with the cover of a guy walking down a dark corridor. It's a long audio drama, and it's very well-made. If you've never listened to podcasts or don't know what an audio drama is, it's basically like watching a movie, but without the visuals." Pvt. Winters was exuding excitement. I understand, it's not every day that you find someone who loves zombies.
"Hmm, that sounds interesting. Yeah, I'll give it a go. Thank you so much for everything! It means the world to me, it truly does." I gave her a warm smile.
"You know, I'm going to see if I can come back here on my time off. I don't think Dahlia or Mia will have much of a problem taking an hour or two off for themselves from their shifts. That is all, of course, if you don't mind." She looked at me rather hopeful. It was cute to see, she seemed like an excited little kid, even though I'm sure she's older than me.
"Of course, I don't mind! I would have something to do at least. But why are you doing all of this for me?" Do not get me wrong, I was more than excited to have some company to talk to and laugh with who was genuine for once, but why is she taking such an interest? Maybe I am being too paranoid.
"I don't have anything else to do on my time off either while we are training. I usually just end up practicing what we've gone through during the day, that's why I'm at the top of the class, or I just walk around the base looking for something to do. Besides, it looks like you could use a friend," she replied.
A friend. She would actually be willing to be my friend in this hellhole? It's so strange.