Tightly Bound

The sound of a telephone rang dimly in the background of the master's home. Dressed in a bathrobe the master quickly and silently moved to answer the phone. His hair still wet and dripping as he left a small trail of wet footsteps following in his wake.

"Hello?" the master said.

"Hello..." a familiar voice replied from the other line.

"Master.... I was not expecting to hear from you, I thought that you we-"

"Silence, I have not called to hear your infernal yapping, I have heard from that whore for a mother of yours that you have a new slave, is this true?" The familiar voice reproached.

The master paused, he did not want to divulge this information to him, not yet. He would tear apart Elizabeth with his bare hands... like last time.

"Is this true?" The familiar voice demanded.

"...Yes, but I do not think that she is-" The master replied, trying to verify the situation in vain.

"Enough, your insolence is beginning to grow on my nerves. I shall be there in 30 minutes." The voice said before hanging up the phone.

Erin woke up alone, curled up upon the cold unforgiving concrete floor alone once again. In a sense this was the worst way to go Erin thought to herself bitterly, to be alone with nobody to protect her, nobody to keep her safe. The opening of the door from the basement above brought light into the dark room as someone descended the staircase. Erin held back her tears and sat on her knees, as he grew closer. A faint click and the room was filled with light, harsh, painful white light that burned at Erin's retinas. But she did not scream, she did not even whimper, she was devoid of all emotions a husk of a human being that had been discarded, her soul leaving her for warmer more welcoming places leaving her fragile shell behind. One that would not smile, laugh, relish in the joys of love. All that she had left was her pitiful self-indulgent little hole. Perhaps I will find peace within the emptiness of it all here, she thought to herself, how pathetic.

She looked up at the master, her face empty and devoid of all emotions, her body no longer cared what pain he was going to put her through and her mind had already disappeared, along with her sanity a long time ago. His face was deep in thought, even to the point of worry. Erin no longer saw the young mysterious man she had encountered many days ago on that nightclub floor, instead all that she saw in front of her now was a faceless monster.

"Only when broken, you begin rebuild."

Funnily enough Natasha's statement had stuck in her mind ever since she had uttered it last night, repeating it to herself like a mantra Erin found comfort in it, drawing strength from it.

"If you have any value on your life you shall listen to every word this man tells you." The master said softly to himself before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

"Leave slave, I shall deal with you later. Hello... child." A familiar voice said from behind her.

Erin turned around and was shocked by whom she saw. It was Fr Ferguson, her priest in the parish from when she attended a catholic primary school. Erin felt relieved finally a reprieve from her insanity.

"Father! Oh what a relief to see you here, you have to get me out of here, this madman has kept me captive for the past week torturing me."

"I often watched you singing in the school choir, oh how you had such a voice, it was almost angelic. You broke my heart when you left that school to go on to high school. I see that my son has not broken you yet, you still have the nerve to talk when not asked." The priest replied a cold look in his eyes.

Erin's heart sunk when she heard the priests reply. Although she always heard rumours about the priest's behaviour, she had never really thought of him as a monster, until now.

"Broken me? I am not a dog to be traine-"
Erin retorted.

"Be quiet, insolent child" the priest yelled, walking over to her and slapping her hard on the cheek.

Erin held back the tears that sprung to her eyes as the stinging spread across her cheek. Looking at him with a look of malice instead.

"Now..." the priest said, licking his lips in anticipation.

"...Lets see about getting you out of that collar and into something more...suitable." The priest said, his eyes gleaming with lust.

"You sick son of a bitch..." Erin said, spitting at the floor of his feet in disgust.

The priest's foot arced up, catching her ribs in a blur, winding her heavily as she collapsed to the floor. Her lungs burned in effort as she panted, clutching her chest. Her vain efforts causing her to cough violently, the pain amplifying as she winced in pain. The priest walked over to her curled up form, grabbing her hair roughly and pulling her up to stand. Erin twisted and screamed as she feebly struggled to stand, her head exploding in pain as her hair roots vainly tried to support her whole body weight. Erin finally managed to stand up, her legs wobbling in pain as her breathing steadied as she took short shallow breaths.

"Get down on your knees." The priest ordered Erin.

Erin submitted, knowing like so many times in the past that resistance was futile. The priest waited til she got onto her knees before continuing.

"Pray with me now sinner, for you must atone for a lot of your sins." The priest begun, making the sign of the cross, Erin had never believed in any religion but she made the sign of the cross just to stop the priest from further hurting her. The priest put his hands together in prayer as he begun to pray.

"True strong and loving god,
Teach me to see things as they really are,
To accept myself and to trust fearlessly in your care,
TO govern myself, and to find my peace in doing your will,
And, living or dying to give myself back to you and to my fellow men."

Erin began to silently weep as the prayer finished. Surely if there was a god then he would give her a peaceful pain free death? Erin had never believed in god or religion, finding herself subconsciously questioning her ideals in the possibility of a god with this blasphemous priest standing in front of her made her angry. She was here by herself, and no one could help her except herself. She needed to stop these self-pitying insecurities and wake up to reality.

Erin heard the rattling of chains and knew without looking that the priest had unchained her from the pole.

"Come child, I shall show you true pleasure, trust fearlessly in my care for I shall never lead you astray. Come. It is time to test your faith." The priest said, tugging impatiently on her chain.

"Only when broken, you begin rebuild."

Erin continued to repeat the mantra to herself as she mustered enough strength to half stand, grinding her teeth against the pain that lanced up her back and her lungs which burned whenever she exhaled. She did not cry out in pain though, instead moving methodically like a puppet on strings. She did not want to give him the pleasure of seeing her in pain. He led her over like a dog tied to its leash to a foreboding looking piece of wood. The wood was shaped in a rough looking stick man, at the ends of each limb an adjustable piece of leather was located, where the victim could be bound tightly. The priest beckoned to Erin to get up onto the wooden man, she silently did as he bid as he secured her hands, feet and neck onto the wooden contraption. He stood back after securing her, admiring his handiwork.

"Now, it just needs one more thing..." he murmured to himself searching around the floor as if he dropped something.

"Ah... here we are..." he said picking up a thin piece of leather, a smile evident on his face as he tied it around Erin's face, covering her eyes. Erin started to feel her anxiety heighten, getting tied up was one thing, but not being able to see what kind of torture he was going to put her through was another. She could feel her heart begin to race at the infinite number of ways he could torment her. She heard the priest's voice from behind her.

"Starting to feel abit anxious are we? I can see the sweat beading off your face, your breath quickening and I'll bet your heart is beginning to race as well. Everybody begins to panic when they begin to lose control of their life. Many are not happy to simply sail along the sea of life to see where they will go, to explore the endless possibilities that life can offer them. Instead they fight the current constantly, eventually tiring themselves out and dieing, none the wiser. Do you know what they lack Erin? Faith. They lack faith and they let their lives be ruled by fear, they would rather avoid a situation if they feel that it may challenge their beliefs. Often missing out on the emotional excitement that the situation may offer. Happiness, sadness, guilt, disgust. These are the things that make us different from animals; these are the things that make us... human. Yet we deny our own existence as humans by locking away our emotions, hiding in the sea of mundane familiarity, welcoming its comfort and safeness, afraid, always afraid. I'll bet you're feeling afraid right now aren't you Erin? Do not fear, sometimes death is the most enjoyable experience of all." The priest said his last sentence finishing in a sinister whisper.

To be continued...