He woke in the dark. Cassius's eyes flicked open abruptly, brushing against a blindfold. His sense returned slowly. Faint traces of red light slipped under the black cloth covering his eyes. He could hear, or feel, the low thrum of heavy bass coming from a distant room. Drawing a breath in slowly, he caught a warm and luscious scent that he couldn't quite pin down. It reminded him faintly of someone he had known long ago, or of the spicy back room in a market shop, or just the common smell of cookies in an oven.
Cool air rushed over his bare skin. He tried to move his arms, but a soft bind of cloth restrained his wrists. The bindings on his ankles were looser, allowing him to shift his gait slightly for comfort, but tight enough to prohibit any strength. Panic crept up in his chest. He couldn't remember anything. How long had he been asleep? Where was he? Despite the rush of questions, Cassius remained calm, he pondered if he'd been drugged.
Another slight breeze drifted through the room. His skin prickled with goosebumps. He was naked except for some piece of cloth draped over his pelvis. The cool air fluttered over his genitals, making him feel exposed. He shifted slightly on the padded table, and the cloth slid over his flat lower stomach. Absent was any resistance of pubic hair, someone had shaved him. Again, panic seeped into his body.
"Wha? Where am I?!" said an alarmed, female voice. "Is anyone there?"
Cassius considered not answering. She was a white girl, he could tell from the sound of her voice. He didn't want to cause her any further distress. Nevertheless, he responded, "You're not alone. I'm tied up as well. Can you see?"
"Oh thank god! No, I'm blindfolded or something. I can't move either, I think I'm handcuffed to this table."
"Handcuffs? You have handcuffs on?" he asked.
"Yeah, I don't want to pull against them too hard, they're already cutting into my wrists. My legs have some kind of chains on them."
Cassius pulled against his own bonds, they were soft and forgiving, he actually didn't even mind having them once he considered it. Why chain up a girl and loosely tie down the ex-military man, he wondered? "Do you remember how you got here?" he asked, warily.
"No, not exactly," she replied with a whimper. "Daddy and I were trying to get some supplies from our house for the rest of the group. I was in the kitchen while he went upstairs to get his rifle. They were waiting on us, I think."
"Who? Why were you getting supplies? Where are we?" His mind flashed to all the places he'd traveled and all the possible scenarios that could explain his current predicament. He could vaguely remember driving toward his home in St. Louis, but it seemed like a dream. A head injury could explain it. He could be in a psyche ward, having imagined going home. Where were the doctors?
"Don't you know? Wait...are you one of them?" the girl whimpered again. "Oh god, please tell me this isn't another sick joke they're pulling on me. Where's my dad? Has he become one of them too?"
"One of who," Cassius spat back. She was sounding more and more like a mental patient. "Hey! Someone! Anybody come in here!" he bellowed, suddenly wanting to be as far away from the girl as possible.
"No...no, why would they tie you up? You haven't turned yet, that's good. We can still fight it. What...what's your name?"
He sighed, "Cassius."
"I'm Lily. Sorry, I just...they wanted us all to follow these rules, you know, to recognize one another. But I never really learned them. I didn't think I'd have to ever worry about it, you know? Now I'm locked up in some basement, and they've taken my clothes. That's what we went to get, seems stupid now, but we wanted clean clothes. Anyway, what about you? How'd you get -"
She stopped. A clanking noise came from one corner of the room.
"Bring him in," said a sultry feminine voice.
"Who's there," Cassius demanded. "Why're we locked up in here?"
The new voice laughed. The squeaking sound of wheels eased into the room, followed by a soft thump as something heavy dropped on the ground. "You're not locked up in here," the woman replied. "I mean, yes, you are locked in, but it's not to keep you in, you see. It's to keep them out. We didn't want anyone to get a little to...excited, and unwrap the presents early."
A hand trailed up his naked leg, lingering just on the edge of the cloth before pulling away. The touch had been warm and made his head swim. His cock stirred, and the cloth raised away from his body. Another set of hands grabbed his shoulders, rough, sharp claws digging into his muscle. With a quick motion, his platform swiveled up, putting him in a standing position still strapped to the table. The cloth barely hung to his body, his modesty barely covered by the friction of linen on skin.