Transcendent
Chapter 2 -- Egg
* * * * *
It was a gorgeous day as Sean strolled down the main drag of Chrysalis. The town felt considerably less ominous when the sun was shining. The silence was remarkable. There were no cars driving along the junk scattered road. He'd encountered no other people thus far. There was no birdsong or even a dog barking in the distance. It was so quiet. A light breeze made the trees along the boulevard rustle, but when there was no wind, you could hear a pin drop.
Sean wasn't used to the quiet. Silence was no longer a part of modern life. Most people were surrounded by noise while at work. Whether they were employed in some field that required constant verbal communication or they were simply besieged by the dings and alerts of computers all day, the assault on the senses was constant. While commuting, the radio, podcasts or audio books were your constant companion. At home, it was the TV or YouTube always on in the background. Even when he went out for walks, Sean always had his earbuds in.
Now he was alone in this strange town with no technology. The quiet was discomforting at first. It forced you to be alone with your thoughts. It demanded your focus be on the here and now. The longer Sean bathed in it, the more he realized it was a good thing.
What were we losing by constantly allowing ourselves to be bombarded by other people's voices and opinions? How many great ideas were failing to be born, because they never got the opportunity to arise from contemplation? How much self reflection was being missed, consigning people to old patterns of behavior and stalling their personal growth?
The silence had him thinking and now he couldn't stop. Walking down the cracked, garbage strewn sidewalk, his mind was in perpetual motion. Sean had deliberated on how he felt about the night before, yet he'd arrived at few conclusions. It had been such an odd series of events that brought him into the orbit of Delilah.
Mistress Delilah
, the snug feeling of leather around his neck reminded him.
She'd been absolutely right. Sean felt a million times better the second he put the collar on. Why was that? Was it because he felt so alone in this unbelievably odd place? Or was it something else? Delilah was drop dead sexy, amazingly confident, yet undeniably warm and disarming. He'd never met anyone like her. Sean had never thought of himself as a bottom or submissive, yet in her presence, he'd fallen into the role so easily.
He approached another storefront and turned to inspect the windows. That was another odd thing about Chrysalis. Although most of the shops were abandoned, they all seemed to be well stocked. When a business had to close, the owner would usually liquidate the merchandise. If the business moved, the items moved with it.
In this town, it was almost like the people who owned these establishments had disappeared overnight. The stores were frozen in time, their wares available freely to anyone who chose to wander through the front door. The windows, doors and signs were almost uniformly filthy. Even from the outside, he could see a layer of dust on most items in each display.
Sean turned his gaze to the next business and his walk slowed to a stop. A gaudy looking storefront called
Leather Larry's Pleasure Palace
presented itself. The young man chuckled, noting that it was definitely no palace. Just an ordinary looking shop with lots of kink themed leather gear featured prominently in the front.
The store looked somewhat less dirty and disheveled than the other businesses surrounding it. It was almost like it had been abandoned more recently. Its cleaner look and bizarre wares enticed Sean, inviting him in for a look around.
'Hmmm... Maybe I can find something that would put a smile on Delilah's face. It would be nice to surprise her.'
He turned and walked to the front door, pulling it open with no resistance and stepping inside. There were no lights on, but with the sun pouring through the front windows, he could see well enough in the darkened show room. The thick smell of leather descended on him like an ocean wave as he entered.
"Hello? Anyone home?"
No answer. He hadn't expected one, but it would've been rude not to check. Sean moved in slowly, studying his surroundings as he made his way deeper into the
"palace"
of leather.
There were dummies setup near the front sporting all kinds of crazy looking harnesses, belts and interlocking bondage fixtures. The walls to either side were lined with racks of leather pants, coats, shirts and undergarments. The tables near the center were stacked with boxes of leather boots and smaller display stands showing off jewelry and other adornments. He saw no dresses or feminine apparel anywhere. It seemed this store catered exclusively to men.
Sean smiled as he zeroed in on one table with a large assortment of leather wrist and ankle cuffs. Each one had an O-ring or D-ring attached, giving them utility for kinky play in addition to whatever fashion statement they were making. He'd seen the punk and goth kids in school wearing bracelets and anklets like these all the time. It seemed like the kind of thing Delilah would appreciate.
He wasted no time, taking up two of the thick leather cuffs and wrapping them around his wrists. A belt-like strap around the center secured them both firmly. He grabbed a pair of ankle cuffs and took a seat on of the fitting couches in the center of the room. After rolling up his pant legs, he repeated the feat, attaching the strong strips of shiny black and metal to his lower legs.
*DONG DONG DONG DONG*
Sean jumped, startled by the grandfather clock on the wall. It wasn't far away; nestled just between the racks of leather clothing not far from where he was sitting. His gaze found it and the clock continued to chime, alerting him to the fact that it was noon.
'Wow, noon already! I guess time flies when you're exploring a ghost town. Noon... Wait a minute. I'm supposed to be somewhere, aren't I?...An hour from now, I think?'
Sean's body buzzed with fatigue and his eyelids grew heavy. The sensation came on strong and fast. He leaned over and stretched out on the fitting couch. It was leather, like virtually everything in the store. He never would've guessed one of these simple guest sofas, the kind you saw scattered all around shoe stores, could be so comfortable. Yet there he was, relaxing contently and about to doze off.
'Yeah, I'll get going... Right after I have a quick nap.'
As the darkness closed in, Sean's nostrils were filled with the scent of leather. It was so overwhelming, he could practically taste it on his tongue.
* * * * *
He felt the tip of something rubbery gliding along his back. It traced his spine up and down, making winding turns and sudden reversals over his lats and traps in slow, smooth arcs. It felt like some kind of wand and the massage it delivered was almost pleasant.
"C'mon Sean... Time to wake up!" a familiar voice said softly from behind him.
As he awoke, Sean realized he was nude and standing, though not strictly under his own power. His limbs were supported by large, leather padded planks. The bondage rings on his neck, wrists and ankles were connected to the the large cross, holding his arms and legs out at forty five degrees angles. He was staring straight at a wall. Based on the color and decor, he recognized where he was immediately.
"The first half our session is over. It's time for the real fun to begin!"
"Lena? Is that you?"
*WHAP WHAP*
Her crop whistled through the air and stung his ass cheeks in rapid succession.
"
Ahhhhhh
!!!"
"That's Miss Lena or Dr. Lena to you, young man."
If he wasn't fully awake before, he sure as hell was now. Sean attempted to look from side to side, but the short restraint connecting his collar to the center of the St. Andrew's Cross allowed scarcely any movement at all.
"Why am I naked?"
*WHAP*
A third painful swat whipped across his exposed buttocks. Sean grunted as the ache set in.
"You're not naked. You're wearing that lovely collar and some nice leather cuffs! Cuffs you picked out yourself, for that matter! You're really jumping in with both feet, aren't you?"
"How did I get here?"
*SMACK*
The fiercest blow yet lacerated his quickly reddening cheeks and Sean whimpered.
"
