“The changing rooms are right over here. The gown ties in the back, and make sure you take off everything underneath. Leave all your stuff in a locker, including your phone. When you’re done, I’ll walk you back.”
I nod and take the bag she handed me over to the dressing rooms, where I change out of my clothes with shaking hands, then make my way back out.
Kelsea is waiting for me, tapping away on her tablet before offering me a small smile. “Your first time here?” She must notice how nervous I am. “I haven’t seen you before.”
“Yeah,” I reply, swallowing heavily. Guess I’m more anxious than I thought I’d be.
“They’re lovely, really. You have nothing to worry about. It should be a quick in and out.”
“They said thirty minutes.”
“That’s not usual, to be honest. We just want to give you the worst-case scenario.” She laughs when I grimace and then shakes her head. “Worst was not a good word. Trust me, we haven’t had any complaints about what happens in those rooms.”
That doesn’t settle my nerves. It just makes my stomach roil. But I don’t tell her any of that. It’s easier to just bob my head as she pats me on the shoulder with a reassuring smile.
Once she seems sure I’m not going to panic and run, or completely fall apart, she leads me further down the hallway to another locked door. There’s a little black box on the side, and she grabs her badge attached to a retractable string and swipes it.
The lock gives a loud beep, and the heavy door clicks open.
“Ready?” she asks.
I swallow, then nod. I’m ready as I’ll ever be.
The moment she swings the door wide, I hear a loud whooshing sound—like massive amounts of water running through a cement tunnel. There’s something in the air, too—a scent I can’t quite explain that clings to the back of my throat.
The closest I can come up with is what it smells like when someone blows out a lit match. For a second, I think my eyes have gone blurry, but I realize it’s not me.
It’s the portal.
I peer forward and see it. It’s hazy and shimmering, like golden water rippling in the air. My brain tells me it’s just an illusion, though I know it’s not. It’s the doorway to their world, and I’m close to it for the very first time.
My fingers itch to reach out and touch it, to see if it’s as soft and gentle as it looks, but I know better.
Two guards on either side with guns in holsters give me looks that tell me I’m not the first person who’s had that thought. And there are others who have probably acted on those impulses without thinking.
I will not be that guy.
“That’s the portal,” she whispers as she leads me quickly past it and down a hallway. I wonder if she’s trying to rush me so I don’t do something foolish.
We walk for a minute more, and as we get deeper down the hallway, I hear it: intense, muffled moans of pleasure. And I’m pretty sure those are human voices, not monsters.
They’re definitely experiencing pleasure, I think to myself. Unadulterated, unrestrained pleasure.
I’m so distracted by the sounds that when she stops walking, I nearly crash into her. I offer her a sheepish smile as I right myself and lean against the wall.
She doesn’t seem fazed. Instead, she reaches for her badge again and swipes it at another small black box next to a room with a gold number six affixed to the wood.
The door’s lock clicks, and she pushes it open to reveal a small space with a single chair in the center. It looks a lot like a doctor’s office exam room with a sink against the wall in the corner, and a framed photo of a meadow on the far wall.
But other than that, apart from faint, melodic music that doesn’t sound human at all, it’s very sterile and impersonal.
“After I leave, you can take your gown off and sit in the chair. It will automatically restrain your ankles and wrists, but don’t worry, as soon as the Vyastil leaves, you’ll be released.”
“Got it.” I hesitate. “What if something goes wrong? What if…” I hesitate to say it aloud. What if they’re listening and will arrest me for, I don’t know, insubordination or something? But the anxiety has turned into fear now. “What if he gets rough or mean or?—”
“We’ve never had an incident like that,” she says, soft and patient.
“Right, but?—”
