Mona stepped out of the shower booth all wet. She reached for a towel, but couldn’t find it were it was supposed to be. She looked around the bathroom. It was nowhere to be found. Suddenly she heard a sound, coming from the other side of the unlocked door.
Before she could react, the door burst open and her brother, Peter, came in. She quickly retreated back in to the booth and slammed the door.
“Looking for this, sis?†he asked, holding the towel in one hand. “I know you are in here and I know you want it. To get it you will have to do something for me, though!â€
“Yes I DO want it, you little …! What is it that you want me to do? What I would like to do, is to strangle you on the spot! And that‘s only to begin with!â€
“I know! And I also know, you would never actually do that! Instead you will have the pleasure of tying me up and gag me. Come on, wrap the towel around you and go back to your room and get some clothes on. Then you get in to my room and you can tie me up! Have we got a deal?†he said, lay the towel on a stool and left the bathroom.
“Yeah! All right!†No, this is to easy, Mona though. “There’s got to be something more to this. He wouldn’t just let me tie him up for no reason, now would he? I DON’T THINK SO!
She went into her room to get dressed anyway. She put on a pair of red wholly pantyhose, a pair of jeans and a thick sweater, also red. Then she went her brothers’ room. She flung the door open and stepped inside. Then she just stood there, with her mouth gaping. In a chair, in the middle of the room sat Peter, already firmly tied up and gagged! “Wouff ouff !†he said from behind the gag. “Wehinff youff!†“Look out! Behind you! Before Mona could react, she felt something damp being put over her mouth and nose. There was a strange smell and then… nothing.
When she woke up, she could feel she was stretched out on a table, which felt like it was made of some sort of metal. She noticed she couldn’t see anything. he thought she was blind, then she realized she was blindfolded. Her hands were held above her head in cuffs that were fastened in the corner of the table. Her feet were fastened in the same way. And she had a band that held her waist tightly against the table.
“Good morning, my dear,†she heard a voice say. It sounded like it was coming from a loudspeaker.
“Welcome to enjoy a day full of experiments. To bad you’re the one being experimented on!†The voice burst out in a mad chuckle.
For the next several hour Mona’s body was pricked with needles and poked at, even in places she was sure never saw the light of day. She could do little, except scream and squirm and try to get as far way from it all as possible.
Suddenly it all stopped. She could hear the locks on the cuffs being opened and the band around her waist slithering away like a snake. She started to take off her blindfold, but a voice politely said, “Please don’t do that. I’m afraid you will have to be blindfolded the whole time you are here. I can’t risk you recognizing me. Now, hop down from the table and come with me.â€
She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the table and hopped down. A hand took a firm grip of her arm and she was led into a smaller room.
She was fastened standing to a wall, her hands held above her head in cuffs.
“Please! I’m so thirsty and hungry. I want some water. And food.†she said.
“You will have none of that. At least not until I’m through with my experiments, my dear. Good night!â€
The door slammed shut with a heavy sound like iron and everything went quiet. So there she was, unable to hear or see anything! She panicked for a while and then she thought “Don’t be so stupid. It’ll soon be over, I’m sure of it.†Then she thought “Yeah. Right! It‘ll never be over!†Having thought that last thought, she almost burst into tears.
She must have dozed off at some point, even though she was forced to stand up. She was rudely awakened by the door, being flung open and the same voice as yesterday said “Good morning, my dear! Have you had a good night’s sleep? No? That’s too bad, sweetie. I have slept like a log myself.â€
That voice Mona thought. I’m sure I’ve heard it somewhere before, but where?
Before she could figure it out, she was released from the wall and taken in to the larger room. She was once again strapped to the table. Then the voice said: “I noticed that you’ve recognized my voice from where ever. Don’t even start to try to figure out where you’ve heard it before, because I’m pretty sure you won’t succeed. Now, shall we begin?†A door slammed shut behind her and it started all over again.
After what seemed to be another eternity of poking and pricking, the voice said: “Now I’m through with the all experiments. I’m sure you’re glad to hear that. In half an hour the table will automatically release you. I will be long gone by then, of course. In the other room, you will find food and water. Good bye, my dear. It’s been a pleasure working with you!†The door slammed shut for the last time.
A short while later, she felt the cuffs on her wrists and ankles disappear and the waistband slither away once again. Hesitantly she sat up. She slowly sat up and took off the blindfold. There was nobody in the room except her.
She looked down at her clothes. They were a little bit wrinkled, but otherwise intact. A pair of boots stood beside a chair and a coat lay on it. She was a bit chocked to realize it was her own coat and boots! She quickly got them on and went in to the next room. As promised there was a table full of food and several glasses of water. She ate and drank, until she could no more. Then she started looking for a way out. All of a sudden the world started shaking and she could hear a voice she definitely recognized saying “Mona! Mona! Wake up, sleepy head. It’s morning! You’ll be late for school!â€
With a little squeal, she sat up and gave her mother a big hug. “I’ve had the most terrible nightmare! I don‘t want to talk about it!†Mona said. “Let’s just say, I’m glad it’s just a dream!â€
But when she came in to the bathroom and took off her nightclothes, she noticed small pricks all over her body. Then she realized, it might not have been a dream, after all. The voice, she realized, belonged to her father!