A gust of cold wind hit Ona head-on as she jogged over the bridge, but the tall dark-haired girl didn't mind. She was dressed for this weather - her long athletic legs sheathed in lined spandex, her torso protected by a snug windbreaker, even her hands and ears covered in gloves and a hat. Ona took a lot of pride in the excellent shape she kept herself in, and a big part of that was not letting a little cold weather keep her from her daily run.
Really, it was a gorgeous morning, bright and sunny, just rather chilly. There were a few other folks out in the park alongside the river - some other runners and a few folks walking dogs. Everyone was bundled up tight. There certainly wasn't a lot of skin showing on a day like this.
Ona ran through the riverside park almost every day, so she immediately took notice of a new structure that had been set up just off her path. It looked like a big cylinder, maybe 8' across and 8' tall, that had just been plunked down on the grass. A big sign next to a solitary door read:
Winter Warming Booth
Step Inside For a Break From the Cold
Ona's fingers were getting cold, and her curiosity was piqued, so she pulled the door open. The first thing she noticed was how thick and heavy the door was. Inside the windowless wood-paneled room was a low bench circling the perimeter. An older couple looked up at her and simultaneously said, in cheery but urgent voices: "Shut the door!"
Ona stepped in and did just that, taking a seat opposite the couple and chatting with them for a minute about how pleasant and unexpected this toasty little warming station was. Very soon the couple got up and said that they had dallied for too long already and had to be on their way.
Ona, enjoying the warmth and the rest, decided that she'd stay a bit longer. The heavy door closed behind the couple, making a barely audible click that the girl inside didn't notice.
With the older couple gone, Ona felt a bit uneasy about being alone in this closed space in the middle of a public park. As soon as her fingers were warm she pulled her gloves back on and walked over to the door. But when she pushed, the big door didn't budge. She looked around for a handle or latch and noticed that if it weren't for the break in the bench, it wouldn't be at all obvious where the door even was.
Ona tried to remember what the older couple had done to open the door, but she thought that they had just pushed. Then, suddenly, all the benches in the room folded down and into the walls below them. The movement made the increasingly anxious girl jump in surprise.
What the heck is going on here?
she thought.
As if in answer, a portion of the wood paneling on the wall opposite the door slid down to reveal a screen that read:
Welcome to the epidermal revelation station.
Tap the screen when you are ready to begin.
Ona didn't like this one bit.
What the hell is 'epidermal revelation,' and why the fuck wasn't this door opening?
She began pounding on the wall where the door used to be and calling out for someone to help her. She yelled louder and louder, but there was no indication that anyone outside could hear her.
She fought to control her panic and tried to methodically look around the rest of the room for a way out. There was nothing to find. Finally she looked back at the screen, which was still waiting for her to indicate that she was 'ready.'
Ready for what?
A minute ago she had no intention of 'beginning' anything with that screen, but now it seemed to be her only option, so she gave the screen a tentative poke. The now very jittery girl jumped again when a drawer opened out from the wall on her right. The screen now read:
1. Remove all of your clothing and jewelry and place it in the bin.
What the fuck?!
There was no way in hell she was going to do that. She screamed at the top of her lungs for someone to let her out and she slammed herself into the wall where the door should have been. She went silent for a moment and tried to listen for any sounds from the outside, but heard nothing. Thinking about how thick the door had been, she wondered if the room was completely soundproof.
This was not good. She had somehow triggered a trap, and she was thoroughly stuck. But though there was apparently nothing she could do to get herself out, there was no way she was going to be stripping out of her clothes. At least, that's what she thought at the time. The screen began to make soft electronic beeps, and Ona saw that below the command to get naked, a countdown timer had appeared. The screen made a soft beep every time one second ticked by:
56.... 55.... 54....
Ona briefly thought that maybe once a minute was up, this room would give up and let her out. But as the numbers got lower and lower, the trapped girl got more and more worried about just what would happen. When the clock hit 0, the screen announced:
Until you cooperate, you will no longer be
given the privilege of a heated space
.
Ona felt a blast of cold air. It seemed to be coming in from between all the wood panels, and soon the room was as cold as the outdoors. Ona was none too happy about this development, but she had to chuckle. Her mind had come up with all sorts of horrors as the timer neared 0. A bit of cold was no worse than if this dumb booth hadn't been here in the first place. It was going to take a lot more than that to get her to take off her clothes!
A humming noise from the ceiling caused the jittery girl to look up and see an array of nozzles poking out from the corner where the wood paneled walls met the ceiling. She stepped away from the first one she saw, only to notice that these nozzles now ringed the ceiling. Before she had a chance to cover herself, a blast of icy water hit her from all sides.
Ona was instantly drenched from head to toe. The cold air was now more than a small annoyance. She renewed her screams for someone to help her, but got no more response than before. She tried to do jumping jacks to keep herself warm, but periodic blasts of icy water from random jets above kept her soaking wet. The air blowing around the room felt like it might be even colder than the outdoors.
Ona was now shivering uncontrollably and many body parts were starting to go numb. She knew hypothermia wouldn't be far away, and when she saw that ice was forming on her shoes she made the decision that it would be better to obey the damn command than to freeze to death.