Dolores walked through the front door of her home, briefcase in hand. The tall, slim blonde wore a business dress jacket and black slacks. Her hair was in a tight bun. As she bustled to the coffee table, to relieve her arms, she noticed a brand new TV and abruptly stopped. She gawked in angered astonishment, her briefcase falling from her loose grip. "Frank!"
"Yes, honey?" her husband said from atop the staircase. He hustled down the steps and over to his wife, his face goofily gleaming like friendly dog.
"What the fuck is this?" Dolores asked strongly.
"It's a top-of-the-line telβ"
"How much did it fucking cost?" Dolores placed her hands on her hips.
"Honey, please, the language," Frank pleaded. "The kids are upstairs."
Dolores' scowl tightened. "How much. Did it. Fucking. Cost?"
"It was..." Frank looked down like a punished kid. "...a couple grand."
Dolores sighed heavily, the anger turning into disappointment. "Frank..."
"This one is different," Frank said, "this one takes you into the show."
"I don't want to hear it," Dolores snapped back. "We're returning it."
"Can't."
"Why?"
"It was from a door-to-door salesman."
"You didn't get his name?" Dolores folded her arms, her brows scrunching. "Who he works for? Are you fucking stupid?"
Frank grabbed the remote from the coffee table. "It works. I tried it. Here take a look."
Dolores rolled her eyes to the television as Frank turned it on. The opening screen had a bunch of categories, listed in small white writing. "So..."
"It works like this..." Frank flipped through the categories: sports, romance, crime, etc. "You pick a category, search out a show, and hit 'play.'"
"Give me that!" Dolores snatched the remote from his hand. As she did, her finger touched a button. A blindingly white strobe reached out from the screen and held her in light.
"Noooo!" Frank shouted, his voice fading in the distance.
***
The bright light dimmed.
Dolores found herself in an empty unfamiliar room. The carpet was cushiony, white, and spotless. The walls were immaculately painted ocean-blue on three sides. A giant television screen, made up of tinier ones, covered the fourth. Each little box showed someone, on the couch or chair, looking into the screen as though watching her. In the middle, she spotted her husband, Frank, knocking on the screen. He yelled, but Dolores couldn't tell what he was saying. Behind her, a door opened and, startled, she jumped around.
A large man, past six foot with the physique of a bodybuilder, stood in the doorway completely naked. He sported a flattop like an 80's action star. His cock was long, thick, semi-hard.
Dolores blushed and turned away. "Umm... excuse you!"
"You know how this works, right?" the man chuckled.
"Know how thisβNo. I don't know where the fuck I am," Dolores stammered. She looked to the screens, found Frank's horrified expression.
"So, you didn't press the porn channel?"
"Porn channel? No!" Dolores angrily swung to him, appalled by the thought. Upon seeing his large cock, she whipped away again. "I was, uh, well, my husband tried to grab it from me and I must've hit the wrong button."
The man laughed under his breath. "Sucks for you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you can't leave until you finish the episode."
"What epiβ" Dolores stopped herself with the arrival of the obvious answer. "I'm the actress?"
"And, I'm the actor," the man said.
With a depressing sigh, Dolores rested her forehead against the screen, blocking Frank's view. "How do you know so much about this?"
"I've had this network for almost a year now," the man said. "By the way, I'm Johnson. Live down the street from you."
"So, this is our whole neighborhood watching us?"
"Yeah. It's fun." Johnson got comfortable on the carpet, leaning against the wall. "You can either watch friends in westerns or whatever. Or join yourself."
"And, this is where you came?" Dolores turned to him with a heightened brow of shameful intrigue.
"Well," Johnson shyly shrugged. "What better way to call it a day after saving the world from alien attackers?"
"Sci-fi channel," they both uttered at the same time.
"Any danger of actually dying?" Dolores asked.
"In a way," Johnson said. "You die in the episode, but you don't feel it. You just reset back at your house."
"Then fuckin' kill me," Dolores urged.
Johnson chortled. "I'm afraid that's not how the porn channel works."
Dolores, once again, turned from him with a heavy sigh. "So, I'm stuck here unless I fuck you?"
Johnson nodded. "It won't be so bad."
"All my neighbors are watching," Dolores complained, "my husband is watching."
"As far as our neighbors go," Johnson added, "if you watch enough you'll see them in some precarious situations as well. Like ole Tim, lives a few houses down, heβ"
"Fuck it," Dolores spat. She peered directly at her husband through the TV screen. He appeared panicked, worried. "This is what he deserves for buying this network behind my back," she said. "And, plus, sex hasn't been all that great."
"Well," Johnson rubbed his palms together and stood to his feet, his cock rising with him. "Let's spice it up."
***
Frank gulped as he watched Dolores turn from the screen, remove her business jacket. "Oh, no, honey..."