Next day, Barbara awoke, slumped back on the bed. She had tried for hours to get out of the outfit that she had been sealed in, with absolutely no success. She was tired, hot and sweaty.

There was a ping from the computer, which she just heard through the leather of her hood.

An email from an unknown sender was there for her.

“Make a note of the following address: this message will auto-delete in three minutes. Do NOT go to work; they have been informed by email that you are ill and unavailable until further notice and they have been sent documents to back this up. As part of this, they have also been instructed to not disturb you until you are fully ‘recovered’. The address you will go to NOW, if you want to have any chance of a normal life again, is…”

The email went on to give an address of a warehouse in the old industrial estate, easily in walking distance from the flat.

Three minutes later, the message vanished, deleted.

Sadly, but still slightly self-consciously, because what she was wearing, Barbara left the flat and slowly walked to the warehouse. When she got there, a chip built into her collar unlocked the door, and she went in.

“Ah, Ms Easton”, came a voice. “So glad you could join us! Welcome to training day. You have the dubious honour of becoming an ‘inconvenience’ for my superiors. You did this by threatening to expose the security of the Mobile Bondage Prison, of which you are now an inmate. As you have now discovered, should you try to get any form of help, the camera built into your collar, as well as other surveillance devices which I will not mention, will record any contacts that you make. Any deemed a security risk will be ‘persuaded’ to become inmates of the Prison, like you.”

“The main purpose of today is to show you how to care for yourself, now you are in bondage 24/7. The truth is, you are let out, occasionally, to be cleaned, fed and watered. This can ONLY occur at this facility. I can assure you that any attempt to remove the prison uniform anywhere else will be extremely unpleasant for you, as well as anyone in your immediate vicinity. Only with the proper tools can maintenance be carried out…”

With that, another person walked up, pressed a button on a handset, and Barbara felt a sting in her neck, under the collar. The floor then came up to meet her…

Some time later she awoke and found herself sitting on a seat near the exit.

“See, easy!”, came the voice. “Same time tomorrow?”

The door opened, and Barbara got up. She still hadn’t seen anyone’s face and had no idea who was running the facility. She did, however, feel a lot more refreshed.

For now, she had no alternative but to ‘play along’.

Sadly, she slowly walked back to her flat, doing her best to avoid everyone.

Then her eyes went wide; her mother was visiting at the weekend…!