Tom had agreed to help with Elena with research for her thesis. She had explained to him in great detail the aim of the project which was to better understand how people react to captivity. To understand how people's emotional state reacts when put into situations where they have absolutely no control. The science had gone way over Tom's head, but Elena had helped him with his project and now it was time to repay the favour.
He had known Elena for six months and they had studied some of their units together. Elena was in her final year of a PhD in Psychology and was a grade A student, always at the library. She was attractive with long blonde hair and beautiful big brown eyes and a nice figure. However, she always dressed very casually in old baggy blue jeans, t-shirt and often an old brown leather jacket.
Tom arrived at Elena's house for the first session. She led him to the basement where a large, very heavy metal cage rested on a three foot high plinth in the centre of the room. It was the shape of a large coffin but constructed of very thick bars, an inch in diameter, with very small gaps in between.
It was just over six foot long, two and a half foot wide and a foot and a half high. Elena explained how the university had obtained the cage from the Government. It had originally been developed for the military, but never used. It had been designed to be completely escape proof. The steel was specially hardened and had been designed to give off dangerous sparks that would kill the occupant if it was ever cut.
The lock had been taken from a high security safe. The one keyhole was set back between two of the heavy bars and in close proximity to the occupant's head. Trying to drill it out would almost certainly kill whoever was inside.
"It was designed to intimidate whoever was inside," Elena explained.
"I believe you," Tom replied, "it's certainly having that effect on me!"
"Don't worry, I won't be trying to extract top secret military information from you," she laughed.
Elena explained that to open the cage required the key and a 12 digit code. "Don't worry I'll try not to forget the code," she smiled as she typed it into the small keypad. She then took out a key which had teeth protruding out of three of its sides and inserted it into the lock. As she turned it a full turn clockwise they could hear the well oiled mechanism turning. She lifted the heavy lid with some effort until it rested back against its hinges.
"What'd you think?" she asked.
"I'd be out of there in no time" he joked.
"I'd like to see that."
Attached to the inside of the lid were five steel panels made from crisscrossed steel bars that ran across the cage. The panels had been made to accommodate the shape of the occupant. The first one had a semicircle cut out for the prisoner's neck, the next one for the chest and so on down to the ankles. The shape of the panels meant that when the lid was closed, the occupant would be totally pinned against the base of the cage, literally unable to move a muscle.
"Well let's try for size," Elena smiled.
"You will let me out again?" Tom asked as he climbed inside.
"We'll see," she smiled.
She lowered the lid, making sure that the panels fitted Tom's profile.
"It will never hold me" Tom laughed nervously.
As the lid closed all the way, they both heard series of loud metallic clicks as each of the many locks engaged.
"Well that's it, you're in!"
Tom wriggled around, exploring what little freedom he had left. "Shit, this is tight."
"I know, it's a perfect fit. How does it feel?"
"Scary. Is that enough feedback for your project?"
Elena reached through the bars and attached a heart rate monitor. "Wow, you really are scared. I'd better not lose the key."
"I hope there are spares."
She shook her head, "Strangely enough there's just the one, but don't worry it's safely in my pocket," and with that tapped the front of her baggy jeans.
"So are you saying that without that key there's a real doubt as to whether I'd ever get out of here alive?"
Elena thought for a moment. "No, that's not true." Tom relaxed slightly. "Without my key you die in there."
Tom's heart rate spiked. "Perfect," Elena smiled "now we can start work."
"Let's start with simple word association, 'Freedom'."
"Bars," he replied. Elena nodded approvingly.
"'Life'."
"Chained."
Elena noted down the first few answers and then went upstairs to her bedroom. Summer was coming and it was a hot day, so she changed out of her baggy jeans and into some cotton shorts and t-shirt. Her summer wardrobe was reasonably well fitting and for the first time Tom could see that she had a very nice figure. Her legs were slim, but strong, and her butt was very cute. When she returned to the basement she stood next to the cage and inadvertently rubbed her butt against the bars as she turned to reach her laptop. She then slowly slipped the key into the back pocket of her shorts. Tom couldn't take his eyes off her.
"OK, let's continue the word association. 'Life'.' Life'!" she had to repeat.
