The Second Coming

Wayne Simmons

Ali was cold. Squatting naked in a damp basement would do that to a girl. She checked the strength of the cuffs. Still tight. She remembered begging for them to be just a little looser, but Simon hadn t gi!en in. Why the hell do I let him do this to me? Ali knew the answer to that, of course. She d been into the whole scene for fi!e years or so " e!er since her marriage had fallen apart. After ten years of feeling absolutely nothing for a soulless shell of a man, Ali needed to feel something. And Simon made her feel a whole lot of something. #e touched her, scratched her, spanked her in all the right places. #e made Ali feel all kinds of things, in all kinds of ways. And she liked it. $ut she didn t like this. %eaning back, Ali assessed her situation. Simon s place was a one" room wonder " a low rent basement apartment& kitchen in one corner, bed in

the other. Ali was naked, cuffed to the old cooker, arms bent backwards, cold hard floor below her knees. She couldn t loosen the cuffs. $ut maybe if she used all her strength she could somehow pull herself free from the ring she had been cuffed to. She raised herself onto her feet, one leg at a time, then used her petite body as le!erage to pull against the ring. 'ressing forward, she felt her arms strain behind her. The harsh metal of the cuffs was biting mercilessly. (resh wounds were opening around the skin on her wrists. The joints in her arms were straining, the pain hard to bear. After two futile attempts, Ali fell breathlessly to her knees again. The cuffs remained secured to the cooker ring. )utside in the stairwell, Ali could hear a low moaning sound. *t wasn t the first time she d heard it. This was the same sound that had disturbed them before. Ali had asked Simon to check it out. #e d been pissed off, reluctant to let anything spoil their game, but went all the same. Someone might be hurt, she d told him. Simon had pulled a shirt on, found his shoes. Said he would check the stairwell, maybe call upstairs to make sure e!erything was all right. $ut that was a couple of hours ago, maybe more. Ali had gi!en up calling out Simon s name, satisfied that this wasn t part of some new and inno!ati!e game he d dreamed up. The sound of shouting now. *t was coming from upstairs. +aybe the ne,t apartment. Is that Simons voice?

Then she heard crying, someone begging for mercy. Definitely Simon. But li had never heard him cry li!e that. "e was her dom, for #hrists sa!e$% Another noise, like someone being choked. And then nothing. Ali waited.