Valerie noticed the last person in the lingerie store leave, noticing it was about closing time. She walked up to the door and locked it before turning off the neon sign that said 'open.' It was a rough day for Val as many people asked for things she couldn't promise. Not being the owner limited Val on the things she could do. However, it was over, and she could concentrate on cleaning the store. Always wanting to clean with some music, she placed soft rock music on the radio and started the last bit before her shift ended.
The music was interrupted by the ringtone from her best friend Jessica, whom she hadn't seen in days. Picking up the phone, she unlinked it from the Bluetooth to the store radio and answered in speaker while she cleaned.
"Hey girl, what have you been up to? Are you alive?" Valerie asked as she leaned on the counter, phone in her hand.
"Umm yeah, look Val... umm can you come over? I have gotten myself in a predicament that I cannot get out of, and you're the only person I can trust" The request came for a camera call which she accepted. She was at her house, with evidence on her face that she had been crying. However, on her neck was what seemed to be a steel collar with a screen display at the front.
"I got this a couple of days ago and, out of curiosity, put it on... I cannot take it off, and it is driving me crazy. This thing shocks me constantly, and I don't know what to do!" Valerie was about to start laughing, but she could see how serious Jessy was and the depression she was in.
"Umm yeah, I have my tools in my car, so that I will drop by in half an hour. Let's see if I can take that thing off" Even though she was a girl, and people often called on her when they had problems with electronics since she seemed to know a lot about those things. There were rumors that she was building a computer from nothing, including the motherboard and everything, which was true.
If people saw Valerie, they would never think of her as a wiz kid with computers. She was short with blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. People often thought she was into modeling and girly things, but they couldn't be far away from the truth.
After finishing up with the store, she jogged to her car and took off to Jessica's house. Thinking ahead, she bought some food for both of them before arriving. There was a place Jessy always loved going to, and if she were locked in, as she said, the food would be a pick-me-up that she would like. The rest of the road was as expected, with many dumb people behind the wheel. Meanwhile, she turned on the radio, hoping for something interesting to hear.
'People are advised not to take anything delivered to their house or residence that they haven't ordered. Reports of hacking and funds draining from these objects have come in, and some people also report blackmail...'
"Oh, Jessy... what you have gotten yourself into... I told you that your curiosity would get you in trouble..." her mind quickly went to Jessy and the strange collar she had around her neck. She was trying to hurry to her friend's house since she had a bad feeling about this.
Jessy was a lucky girl, her parents left her a big house as an inheritance, and she had solar panels, so her monthly bills weren't that high. Parking at her usual place, she picked up her tools and food, walked over to the door, and knocked on the door with her foot.
"Val? Coming!" The door soon opened, and she picked up the food bag to help Val. "Come in, Val; I am so glad you are here... I didn't think of calling you, but I am getting desperate... my job has already called. If I don't report tomorrow, I am fired". She walked up to the kitchen and placed the bags on the counter.
"I can imagine; I didn't know you were into that kinky stuff... one more thing I learned about you, silly," Valerie laughed, trying to cheer her up. She smiled taking one of the burgers, fries and the soda before she brought them to Jennifer who was sitting on the table.
"So... let me get this straight, you got this at your house and thought it was from an online friend who promised to send you something. Thinking it was a joke, you tried to take a silly picture for him, but that thing got locked, and you could not take it out. What's more, that thing keeps sending shocks from time to time... correct?".
"Y...yeah... do you think you can help me, Val?" She was nervous, and that was clear by her look. Val wondered why she hadn't called the police, but at the same time, she knew that Jessy valued her looks and reputation, something like that getting out would ruin her.
After eating, Valerie picked up her tools and walked behind Jessica. Moving her hair away to see the lock, she didn't touch it, not wanting to shock her. "Mmm, this lock... I have never seen something like this... there is nowhere to put a key in, which is locked online. Mmm, I have an idea" She walked up to the modem and disconnected it as well as her phone's internet connection and hers, "Now there is no net to this house, and I doubt the net of the people next door would reach here.
She took a screwdriver, but as soon as she touched it, she could feel the shock that made her drop the tool. "Fuck!" Valerie screamed, as well as Jessica. "You okay, girl?" Valerie asked as she picked up the tool and looked at the locking mechanism again.
"Okay, it must have a tamper sensor on it. That is the only way you could get shocked without the internet... I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I can take it off; the bad news is that I left what I need in the car, and I need to go pick it up," Valerie giggled as Jessy bit her lip hard.
"Don't scare me like that! Pick whatever you need. I need to go pee" she laughed softly relaxing a bit for the first time since she placed the collar on.
Valerie kept thinking about how that could be done like that... her mind was troubled if more of these were given out to people. "I need to call the police on this; I will not say that it was Jessica, but once I get that out, I am going to the cops," she told herself as she picked up a box and returned to the house.
Stepping into the house, Valerie knew something was odd; Jessica wasn't back from the bathroom. She jumped as something was placed around her neck, and it locked. Jessica was behind her with a worried expression on her face.
"What the fuck, Jessy! Why did you do this!" Valerie was screaming out the top of her lungs as the first shock made her fall to her knees. Looking at the mirror in the distance, she had the same thing Jessica had on. The display showed a locked padlock.
"I had to do this, Val... I need to obey them; I have no choice! I am so sorry!". Valerie's cell phone dinged, and the background changed to a strange logo and the lock screen. Four digits lock now locked her cell phone out. "What the hell..." Slowly, she got on her feet again, walked over to the mirror, and looked at the collar. "I cannot take this off!... I need to see the lock to take it out, and you don't know how to work this out... some mess you've gotten me into!". The TV in the living room turned on, and the same logo on the collar appeared on the TV.
"Good day Valerie Connors, you now belong to us... there is no getting out, and there is no tampering with the collars. You can see that the thing you thought you could do is no longer available to be done. It was all made for this moment... You cannot leave that house, and food will be delivered to you both each day. Disobey and...."
Valerie and Jessica both screamed as the shock drove them to the floor.
"This was just level one, and there are a hundred levels on your collars. Tamper with the collars, and you will get shocked, try to leave, and as soon as it detects you are leaving the house, you will get a warning before getting shocked. Disobey any orders given, and you will be shocked. Now you must realize that we own you... and you should also know there are cameras placed all over the house. We will know everything you do. Tamper with any of our equipment, and you will get a shock. The levels of the shock will depend on the severity of the action taken. Now I will leave you and Jessica to discuss basic rules you must obey... Until later... have fun."
The news was right, this was something that people needed to watch out for, and now she was a victim too. Taking a deep breath, she approached her tools and picked up a screwdriver. When the tool contacted the lock, she was forced to drop it to the ground as the shock took both of them.
"Fuck! I have a test tomorrow!" Valerie dropped to her knees and tried to calm down. She looked at the car and bit her lip. Opening the door leading outside, she took one step before the collar started to give warning sounds "Warning: shock in 5,4,3" She returned to the house, and the warning stopped. There was no way out of this.
"Val... I am so sorry... there is no way out of this... they made me do this to you, or else they would shock me with level ten which dropped me unconscious for two days... they would keep doing that until I obeyed them" Valerie calmed down as she heard Jessica reasoning.
Level one and I dropped to the floor in pain, I cannot begin to imagine level ten, and that thing said, there were 100 settings on these collars... this could kill us if we aren't careful.
"The collar detects the garage as part of the house... we can come here, but they control the garage door. I cannot open the door, and if you try, you get shocked. Those cages... are for us to go inside if they order".
This was all too much for Valerie as she leaned back to the wall, trying to calm down, her hands shaking. For the first time, technology had defeated her thoroughly. "What.... What are these rules... tell me now; I don't want to get shocked again".
Jessica and Valerie sat on the couch as Jessy explained how things worked. "I am so sorry, but... we need to remove clothing. They want us naked at all times".
Valerie blushed instantly; she had never been naked in front of a person, much less taken a naked picture. This would be constant video streaming at all times. "It's a miracle we haven't been shocked because we have clothes".
Both of their collars at that moment said,
"No clothing rule broken... shocking in 10,9....
"
"Shit! You got to be kidding me!" Jessica removed her clothing, tossing them to the ground.
