Bound Friends Pt. 14

"I would imagine.." Andrea said before deciding to rest herself against the garage door too.

"Well you two look like you've gone from indifferent to outright distressed," Zainab said as she sat on the hood of the car. "And here I thought time went slow yesterday."

"Look, if you want to go somewhere else," Andrea knee-jerkingly responded.

"Well do you?" Zainab asked.

"Do I what?" Andrea replied.

"Do you two want to go somewhere else?" Zainab said as she stood back up. "I mean if it's so bad in there you need to come out into the freezing cold to feel comfortable,"

"This isn't that cold," Andrea replied teasingly.

"Into the freezing cold.." Zainab repeated as she squinted her eyes. "Well then maybe wouldn't it be better if you just had the holiday somewhere else entirely?"

"But.. what about.. church tomorrow?" Megan said. "No.. no we'd just get stared at there too. It's a small town, people talk. Only thing worse than judgy extended family is judgy strangers.."

"That doesn't mean we can just leave, I mean with your family and all aren't we kind of expected to be here?" Andrea asked Megan "I mean.. that what you're supposed to do right? Be with your families for the holidays?"

"What'ya mean 'expected?' They didn't even know we were coming!" Zainab exclaimed "And Andrea, I'm sure I could say the same about you being with your family,"

"Watch it," Andrea said as she put up a finger to Zainab.

"Sorry, didn't mean to hit a soft spot, but if we weren't expected to be here, and you don't feel very welcome, than I say screw it! Make your own tradition. Lets go somewhere you wanna go."

Megan looked over at Andrea as the two seemed to silently talk it out. "Ok fine. Give me some time to say goodbye and to pack, you two go get whatever of yours is left at the motel."

"Alright, sounds like a plan." Andrea said as she joined Zainab in racing towards the car. "Bet you feel kinda silly unpacking that giant suitcase now that we were only here for the one night."

"Oh not to worry, that's why I never go anywhere without my little slave to do all the tedious crap I just don't wanna be bothered to do." Zainab said with a wicked grin as the car backed out of the driveway.

"Come on, I got my stuff and now your stuff too?" Andrea huffed.

"Well that's five lashings already for complaining, you want any more or are you going to cooperate?"

"Oh but Mistress.. that might make us late for Megan." Andrea suggestively whispered.

"Keep up that attitude and we just might.. This will take as much time as your Mistress decides it will take. And now it's 10 lashings" She whispered softly as she leaned in causing Andrea to quiver.

"Yes Mistress..."

****

"Are you sure you have to go? It's really no trouble that you came home unexpectedly," Heather said as she stood in the doorway watching her daughter pack.

"No, I'm sure mom," Megan said as she continued to look through her old room. "Say, where were those boxes I used to have in here? The ones with my old notebooks?"

"Oh those, I put them down in the basement when you moved out," Heather said before leading the way to the stairs. The two walked down the creaky stairway to the unfinished basement. Megan almost forgot how cold it got down there in the winter and immediately started feeling it. She looked around and found a box that looked familiar, smiling as she saw a pile of her old notebooks and journals.

"Do you need anything else?" Heather asked while Megan began to skim through one book in particular.

"No.. no mom I'm good."

"Oh.. I know you are sweetie." She said as she moved in for a motherly hug. "I know you're more than good, you're all grown up and you can do anything you want cause whatever you do I know you'll be amazing at it," she said continuing the long hug.

"Thanks mom" Megan said pensively.

"Oh I know you're getting too old for me to dote on you like this, I'm sure it's embarrassing but it's not getting any easier on me you know watching my children grow up into such successful, wonderful adults who just don't need their mother any more. And now you've got the whole world out there is just yours for the taking."

Megan blushed and waited for the hug to end before returning to her notebook. Heather did eventually get the message and walked back upstairs. Megan smiled as she took a picture of the page she needed with her phone before returning everything to the box and rushing back upstairs.

"Hey you almost ready to go?" Andrea asked, startling Megan as she came back up the stairs.

"Sorry, didn't even know you were here."

"Oh, just got here, I haven't been waiting or anything," Andrea said as she kicked off her shoes.

"I'll just be another sec, you say goodbye and I'll meet you in the car." Megan said as she grabbed the final few things she needed and rolled her suitcase out to the car. Zainab sat patiently in the back as Megan put her bag in the trunk. Andrea came out soon after and got into the back with Zainab, giving Megan the front.

"So, now that we're here, now what?" Andrea asked as she saw Megan typing something into the GPS while reading her phone.

"I figure we go and try to find some answers. Lea hasn't been answering any one of us and if she's held up in her cabin again I say we try to knock a little Christmas cheer her way. I wrote down the cabin's address a while back and I say it's maybe time to go back there. That ok with you?" Megan said as she turned to look at Andrea.

Andrea was pensive but seemed interested. "And how do we know if this is just a wild goose chase?"

"Well.. no we don't have any real way to know that now," Megan admitted. "But I say we stop at a store on the way up, get some food for a holiday feast and hope for the best. I mean, where else would she be?"

****

"We finally there yet?" Zainab asked as she impatiently watched the dusk covered forest go by. "This is so boring!"

"Actually, I think so," Andrea said as she recognized the last turn onto the driveway. She sat up waiting for the last turn up and over the hill at the end of the long driveway that finally brought the cabin into view.

"Well that's not promising," Megan said as the car came to a stop. "No car."

The three silently got out and walked up the creaky stairs to the front door. The lights were out, the door was locked. Megan spun and leaned herself against the door in sullen defeat.

Andrea silently started walking away and around the house to get towards the laundry room door. She still saw no signs of life, but hoped the keypad would let them in regardless. She typed in Lea's master code 6478. When the green light went off she smiled and opened the door. "Hey, I got it open over here," she called out, waiting for the other two to come join her.

They walked in and turned on the lights. They knocked and then entered the master bedroom. It was in the same pristine shape it was in all those months ago when they left it. It was clear without doubt to the girls that Lea and her messy standards had probably not been back.

"Lea?" Megan called out. "I'll just double check upstairs," she said before dashing for the nearest hidden stairway and typing in Lea's code.

"Well.. what do we do now?" Zainab asked once she was alone with Andrea. "This was a long ride, it's already dark and I don't know where else you might want to go."

"Yeah, you're right. We got food and beds and.. stuff" Andrea said as she slowly walked over to the master bed.

"Man this is a nice bedframe.. almost like it was.."

"Like it was made for bondage?" Andrea interrupted, flicking one of the metal hinges built into the frame.

"Huh, that's impressive. I know you said Lea was the one who introduced you but this is some serious hardware to invest in.." Zainab said as she ran her finger along the solid wood frame.

"Zee.. if this impresses you then boy do I have some surprises in store!"

****

Megan sat back, resting on her hands and looking around the attic. Before everyone had left all those months ago, they had at least put everything back to where it had been. All the bondage furniture once again sat opposite the cells just as it had been for most of the summer she had spent here. Even some of the animal crates that had been on the porch were put up here instead of the shed. She turned her head as she heard someone coming up the stairs.

"Hey.. I take it no luck up here?" Andrea asked as she slowly ascended the stairs.

"No, it was a long shot anyways but I don't see anything to suggest Lea's been here," Megan said as she turned back to take in the panorama. "You know, almost a small part of me misses it, kind of strange to say because of how everything went down. No, but things were.."

"Hellish? Painful? Dehumanizing?" Andrea asked as she knelt down beside her friend.

"Yeah.. I was going to say simple but you're just as right, I guess I'm just making myself forget those parts some." Megan said as she looked over at Andrea.

"Well, I started giving Zainab a tour and when she heard sauna she kind of didn't want to hear anything else just yet. She's down there waiting for it to heat up, I just came to see if you wanted to join us?"

"Yeah.. that'd be nice." Megan said as she decided to get up. The two began walking down the stairs as Andrea began removing her shirt. The two stripped and walked out to the hallway. The inside of the sauna was warmer but clearly still warming up. Zainab sat naked in the far corner with only a towel under her. Megan sat at the opposite corner from Zainab while Andrea sat beside Zainab.

Zainab bent down and grabbed Andrea's ankles, scooting her closer and draping her legs up and over Zainab's lap. She slowly ran her fingers up and down Andrea's legs as she settled back into a comfortable position. Megan blushed and curled herself up, hugging her legs and resting her head on her knees.

Zainab slid her other arm around Andrea's shoulders pulling her body in close for a kiss. As she allowed Andrea to straighten back up, she bent in, moving her other hand and her mouth up to Andrea's pierced nipple. She began to moan as Zainab began to lightly nipple.

"I'm.. I'm gonna go unpack the car," Megan said, awkwardly getting up to go to the door.

"I'm sorry," Zainab cried back as she let Andrea go entirely. "I got carried away, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or chase you off."

"No.. it's.. I mean the food should really be put in the fridge anyway," Megan said as she turned back to look at them. "Really, I'm the one that convinced you two to come out this way, I might as well take the bags in, maybe start preparing it since it'll just be the three of us," she said before walking through the door and leaving the two alone.

"Now, where were we?" Zainab asked as her hand returned to Andrea's leg.

****

"Hmm, that was good," Zainab sighed as she set her fork down and leaned back.

"Thanks, glad you liked it," Megan said.

"And I gotta say, it's not nearly as weird to be back as I thought it'd be." Andrea said as she leaned back a bit as well.

"I got to say as an outsider, I don't know why you'd stop coming here. Sure it's a bit of a drive but there's something kind of peaceful about being this far away from everything. I don't know if I personally could stand it for too many days but in small doses it seems like it would be nice," Zainab mused as she looked around the large open living room.

"Well.. there's just this whole history," Andrea quietly admitted.

"Yeah, it is too bad your friend wasn't here. I do feel bad now for getting off on such a bad foot with her. I'm sure this must have been where you all played around? Certainly private enough."

"Well you haven't even seen most of it. You went right to the sauna, then right to the tub and then here," Andrea said. "Megan, you want to come show Zainab the upstairs?"

"That's a reaction that could be worth seeing," Megan said as she shrugged her shoulders.

The three got up from the table and walked over to the door near the kitchen. Andrea typed in the code and then led the way upstairs. As Zainab walked up her face went wide. It was perhaps the most dumbfounded Andrea had ever seen her. "You.." Zainab stammered. "You had all this and you only found out you liked this stuff this year? I mean those are metal cells built into the wall, it looks.. is that hooked into the plumbing?"

"You know how I said Lea was good with computers? Well she bought this place with the money she got from selling a program she made. It came like this cause the guy who built it was.. well he must have really been into all this," Andrea said as she walked backwards into the center of the room.

Zainab felt along the padded leather bench as she walked toward Andrea. She opened up one of the cell doors that was a little bit ajar and walked inside. "So, what are these dildos on the wall?" she asked as she flicked the phallus.

"Well, it's got sensors," Andrea said as she walked inside. "You suck it and then it squirts out some water and nutrients. Like that powdered meal replacement kind of stuff."

"And the door opens with a code I assume," Zainab said as she walked up to the door and began to swing it along its hinges.

"Yeah.. you just hit the code and it opens back up."

Zainab reached over to the cell beside hers and typed in the master code, causing a green light to flash and the door to unlock. She smiled, closed the door to her own cell and then typed in the numbers. Their own green light came on and the door swung open without resistance before she closed it again. "So did you spend much time in these?" Zainab asked as she stood back up.

"Yep, spent nights and sometimes most of the day up here, all four of us did," Megan said as she leaned up against the door of the cell.

"Then how did you.. I assume you didn't know the combination or it's not much of a jail cell. How did all four of you not have a way to get out?" Zainab asked.

"Well Lea programmed something to integrate all the house functions. Lea would just speak a command and it would happen. Like she'd say 'Hannah, don't let the jail doors open for 12 hours,' it would just happen.." Andrea explained.

"Locking doors," came a cold disembodied voice over the speakers.

"Halt! Halt!" Andrea and Megan both instantly started screaming.

"I am already in safemode," Hannah emotionlessly explained.

"Then, can you open the door?" Andrea asked as Megan leaned against the door.

"I can, but due to a specific command coded into my programming, opening the door now would contact the police and you would be responsible for making a false call." Hannah explained.

"Would someone please explain what the hell is happening?" Zaina asked as she looked around confused.

"It's.. just the program Lea made.. I don't know why.." Andrea began to explain before the adrenaline began to wear off. Her hands began to shake and she had to sit down to stop the world from spinning all around her.

"Andrea! Stay with me here," Zainab said as she knelt down in front of Andrea, trying and failing to regain her attention.

"I.. I got.." Megan began to say before simply stumbling down the stairs and out to the kitchen.

"Andrea, what is this? Who is Hannah?" Zainab asked.

"I.. no I can't."

"Well how about we just type in the code, I'll pay the fine or whatever.." Zainab said as she tried reaching through the bars.

"NO! No!.. you can't do that.. that would make it public record and.. no.. never.. just please don't," Andrea desperately pleaded.

"Look, I'm right here. We apparently aren't going anywhere, take whatever time you need but I want to know what's going on here," Zainab said as she slid back and leaned against the bars at the opposite side of Andrea.

Andrea slowly, caught her breath. Tears were beginning to fill her eyes. She looked up and saw Zainab silently and patiently waiting. She lunged forward, collapsing into Zainab's lap and allowing herself to lose all composure to become a fitful crying mess. "Promise.." Andrea said into Zainab's thigh. "Promise this won't change how you see me," she stammered between the tears and the sniffling.

"I can't say that, everything new changes how we see things. But I can say that whatever you tell me, whatever has been haunting you, I'll listen, I won't judge you and I'll help you get through it," Zainab said as she stroked Andrea's hair.

After a long pause, Andrea turned her head to look up at Zainab. "It started last spring I guess, when Lea went into hiding up here.."

****

Megan was breathing heavy, leaning up against the bedroom wall. She closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. Her mind was racing too fast for anything rational it to keep up with. But breathing in.. and breathing out.. she could focus on that. She pictured an arrow, red and inflated, rising with the breath in. She pictured it turning blue and shriveling to half its size, falling down as she breathed out. Eventually she calmed. She returned to the moment.

"Hannah, have you been running this whole time?" she asked up into the ceiling.

"Yes, I was never shut down only put into safemode. I can only do what I am directly instructed and nothing more," Hannah replied.

"But you can't open the cell doors?" Megan asked.

"I am sorry, but a part of my program requires that once locked, any attempt to unlock them should result in calling the police. I can not contradict that," Hannah explained.

"Great," Megan mumbled to herself. "Those two are stuck there till tomorrow or we're stuck with a several hundred dollar fine, and a public record. Add more damn fuel to the fire.. people would love to hear what those little degenerates did on Christmas Eve...Fuck."

Megan got up and limped slowly towards the master bedroom to go lay down. She stared up at the ceiling, letting her mind once again begin to race. She frowned and got up, lumbering towards the door to go check on how the two captives were holding up.

She heard murmuring as she opened the door and decided to call out rather than risk disturbing something private. "Hey.. you ok up there?"

"Fine," Zainab shouted back.

"I can't get the door open without it calling the cops, do you two..."

"No we're fine we just need some time alone," Zainab said much more insistently this time.

"Ok.. I'll maybe go to bed early then.. leave you two for the night.." Megan called back before leaving and closing the door. She walked over and leaned against the footboard of the bed, gripping it tightly. She looked up and out of the corner of her eye caught Zainab's oversized suitcase. She looked back at the door before deciding to go over and open it. She smiled as she opened it up, seeing Zainab's leather bondage straps. Megan grabbed the lot of them and put them up on the bed, seeing wrist cuffs, ankle cuffs, a collar and at least six other straps of various sizes.

As she ran her fingers along the leather she knew what she was going to do with her night. She looked back at the suitcase and found the ziplock with lots of keyed alike locks before closing the suitcase back up. She took the straps and the locks back to the nearest guest room and began to strip.

She unlocked each of the locks before taking the key and throwing it outside. It landed in the grass between the balcony and the paved area. It was already night, there is no way she could easily find it before morning. She however closed the door quickly as the cold air rushed in. The small breeze was enough to make her pierced nipples stand proudly up

She closed the door to the hallway and then approached the bed with glee. She sat down and strapped each leather cuff around her ankle, before slipping a small lock into each prong's eyelet, insuring she couldn't back out. She ran her hands back up her legs and began to massage her clit.