Chapter 15.
The noise of Ally's approaching motorbike engine could be heard from miles away through the quiet warm wind of the mountains. Tess and Ingrid stood to tidy the chairs, towels and drinking cups they'd made use of in his short absence.
Their only hope of help arrived, revealing his sweat soaked hair from under the crash helmet before strapping the bike back onto its bracket at the rear.
Still barefoot, the girls rode in the back, again with the curtains closed, having only a view of the horizon through the front window in the distance.
The privacy and security of the locked gates back at the blockhouse, allowed the girls their freedom to roam around the courtyard together.
Ally approached his two captives with their footwear in hand and dropped Ingrid's training shoes on the floor in front of her. He then knelt down with Tess's boots and released the padlock joining the three foot waist belt chain to the six foot collar chain.
Ingrid stopped fastening her laces and stood to look at Ally putting on Tess's boots for her.
"Actually," Ingrid said, "I think I'd prefer my ankle boots back now please."
Ingrid's gardening boots had been part of their clothing exchange on the boat ride to Morocco, where Ingrid had double-crossed Tess and subsequently caused the chains to be on her instead.
Tess panicked when Ingrid asked for her boots returning because she knew that the fur lined, folded down rim around the top of the ankle, held her leg cuffs at a comfortable height for walking.
"Ha." Ally laughed, pointing down at the trainers on Ingrid's feet. "They were new when I bought them. Now they absolutely stink."
Tess joined in with a nervous laugh.
"Believe me Tess." Ally went on, "You don't want to be going near those things without a chemical suit."
"I can't smell anything." Ingrid protested.
"I'll stick to the ankle boots thanks Babe." Tess said. "You were quick enough to give them away on the boat, so you can keep what you've got thanks."
Watching Ally finish off her laces with a double bow, gave her relief that the boots were staying for now.
Feeling like the principal girl of the two, Tess braved to request a change of clothes. "On that subject Babe," She asked. "Is there any chance of us getting some more appropriate clothes when you're next out? It's just that these shorts are pretty dam tight and Ingrid's jeans were far too warm for her to wear today up in the mountains."
The look of disgust on Ally's face made Tess think that she'd insulted him in some way, so she explained her request a little clearer. "You know. Something like that green summer dress you bought for me back in wales."
The aggression in his response shocked both girls into considering stepping away from him.
"You mean that green dress that you ridiculed me about?" He said, loudly and directly into Tess's face. "You mean that one that I didn't even bring with me because you said you would never go near it and belittled me about?"
He took hold of Tess's crop-top from where it began, just above her waist belt and looked down at her shorts, to assess whether or not they were worth keeping.
"No." he said, turning his head towards Ingrid's loose fitting jeans. "If anything I don't want you wearing any clothes at all."
Beholding the sight of Ally walking between them, Tess and Ingrid looked at each other in shock.
"Haha Babe." Tess trembled behind him, from where he now stood in front of Ingrid, looking at the holes in her knees. "You don't mean that."
He bent down slightly and tugged at the loose torn fabric halfway up Ingrid's legs. "Disgusting, blood stained sweaty disgrace, these things." He said. "From now on, when a garment becomes unfit for wearing, I'm going to cut it off and throw it away."
"So you've got one chance to look after the clothes on your back, because I won't be replacing them." He warned his two stunned prisoners. "Once they're gone, they're gone for good."
"You can't make us walk around naked!" Ingrid snapped back. "We'll die of exposure from the sun for a start."
The whole subject of clothing seemed to have struck a chord, causing something to snap with in Ally's head after this confrontation from Ingrid.
He grabbed hold of her collar chain and dragged her over to the Camel tethering post, at the bottom of the flagpole in the centre of the courtyard.
"I can and I will!" he said.
Tess kept her distance, to observe Ally take hold of the ring between Ingrid's rigidly cuffed wrists and padlock it to the shoulder high circular tether attached to the wooden structure. Sensibly, Ingrid hadn't resisted Ally's demands for fear of worsening her situation before she actually knew what he wanted of her.
"It's no secret that sun cream will protect you from burning but being naked will discourage you from running away." He said to Ingrid, turning his back and walking towards the main building.
Ingrid tested the restraint ring immediately in front of her eyes, only to confirm the inescapability of the ancient hardware.
Tess shuffled herself over to join Ingrid so that she could discuss theories of why, all of a sudden, he wanted to find an excuse to keep them locked up and naked. They concluded incorrectly that it must have something to do with the man he met that morning.
Only a minute or two passed before Ally returned from the main building, carrying a pair of kitchen scissors in his hand.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Tess asked. "Has something happened today?"
"Nothing's wrong." He replied. "Stand over here will you. Face that way."
He positioned Tess next to Ingrid, slightly in front, but not too far that she couldn't see over her shoulder.
"Nothing's wrong at all." He said, standing back from both of them. "I've been meaning to warn you about the consequences of not taking care of your clothes, but the subject hasn't come up until now."
Where they stood with their legs in a relaxed position, slightly apart and unhindered by their chains, gave Ally a few moments to admire the two girl's similarities.