"Sir.
If you could just sign here please, we'll be done."
Snapped out of my semi-comatose
state by the curt voice, I groggily raise my head, forcing my blurred vision to
focus on the figure before me. The dim room makes it difficult to discern any
details, but the voice seems to be female. 'She' rises from a seated position
and makes her way toward me until she is directly in front of me. Yes, definitely
female. Her austere grey suit jacket is dotted with simple gold buttons and is
tight on her slight frame in a somewhat unflattering manner. Clearly she values
practicality over style. Before I can even respond to my own joke, my in depth
study of her midsection is interrupted by an ecru rectangle sliding into my
vision. I struggle to focus on the markings scattered seemingly at random
across what I now recognize as a clipboard, eyes rebelling from the strain.
"Now as we have discussed, you
expressly violated your contract with us, and this carries serious
consequences. However we hate to waste a potentially profitable situation, so just
sign here please." She indicates a blank space amongst the cacophony of
symbols with a carefully manicured yet drab finger. I open my mouth to respond,
but instead of the expletive I was attempting to produce my body is shaken by a
violent cough and viscous liquid dribbles down my chin. The woman backs away
mechanically. I feel a hand clumsily mopping the liquid off of my face.
Surprisingly, the hand is my own and moving freely, unlike my three other
thoroughly bound limbs. Using this new found mobility, I gesture crudely in her
direction. The tendons of my arm ache in response.
"Sir, please, every moment of
my time you waste equals lost profits for both me and our benefactors. It is in
your best interest to cooperate." Out of the corner of my eye I see her
retrieve a dull grey prism from her pocket. It looks horridly familiar and I
shiver uncontrollably at the sight of it. She moves silently behind me and
places an icy hand on my shoulder. My skin throbs painfully underneath it as
her nails bite into my flesh, sending bolts of pain through my whole body. The
paper enters my vision once again. "Now, if you could just sign here, please." Her voice, dripping with
disdain, hisses from behind my ear and I flinch. Recovering my composure I
raise my shaking arm up to the clipboard and with a herculean effort smack it
out of her hand. The woman sighs lightly and presses the prism into the back of
my neck.
"Perhaps next time you will be
more willing to negotiate." Electric fire courses through my body, throwing
my limbs into uncontrollable spasms. My legs strain painfully against their
restraints, my free arm flails wildly, then suddenly freezes as my nails bite
into my hand. My head is thrown back as my eyes do their best to escape the
confines of my skull. Suddenly the pain stops and I slump down, blurry vision
barely able to distinguish my own legs. As I begin to lose my grip on
consciousness, I hear the clacking of high heels slowly moving away from me.
The last thing I manage to perceive is the throbbing behind my eye sockets and
the subtle squeaking of a chair.
"Sir. If you could just sign
here please, we'll be done."
